Bloomfield retains full belief that Adebayo can still be a 'big player' for the Hatters

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield insisted he still has full belief that striker Elijah Adebayo can be a ‘big player’ for the Hatters in their hunt for Championship survival this season.

The forward, who hit double figures in the Premier League last term, has struggled for goals for the majority of the campaign, drawing blanks in 33 of his 38 matches in all competitions, and has now not found the net since the 2-1 win over Stoke City on December 10, some 17 appearances ago, his lengthiest dry spell since joining the club back in February 2021. On Tuesday night, making his fifth start for Bloomfield during the trip to Cardiff City, his seemingly fragile confidence was highlighted when, during the first half, he appeared to have been played in by Thelo Aasgaard’s measured ball over the top.

While the Adebayo of old would have driven on and fired a shot off, on this occasion he opted to try and find strike partner Carlton Morris instead, seeing his attempted pass cut out and the chance going begging. The forward was on the pitch as Luton made it 1-1 through Jordan Clark’s wonderful volley, before being replaced ahead of the restart, Jacob Brown coming on, meaning his lengthy barren spell continued.

Asked if his forward was suffering from a lack of belief at the moment, Bloomfield came out firmly in Adebayo’s corner, saying: “I believe in him a lot, I believe in him a lot. I love Eli, I think he’s been a big player for our football club for the last few years and we believe he can be again. I think he’s unplayable. When he’s on his game he’s absolutely unplayable and that’s the guy we’re focusing on, that’s the guy we want and that’s the guy we know we can have.

"I think a lot of Eli. He’s a real good lad, a good player on his day and we want to make sure we head him in the right direction. He’s doing that, he’s running for the team, he’s working hard for the team. At Burnley last Saturday with 10 men he was still chasing lost causes, he was still working hard, and that’s where it comes from. As long as the boys are giving that, the goals and the chances will flow. It’s not easy to do (regain confidence) when we talk about it as well, so I’ll try to just concentrate on the things that are in our power and that’s work-rate, tactical understanding, it’s team contributions.

"Look at Browny (Jacob Brown) when he came on last Saturday and Tuesday night, just all in for the group. Coming on as a finisher with 10 men against Burnley and he’s chasing everything and on Tuesday night again Browny was fantastic. Eli was brilliant too so it’s all about that team cohesion and as long as we’ve got that we’re heading in the right direction.”