Cottagers capture Cauley

The 16-year-old England U17 international may have only figured three times for Luton’s first team, but that exposure has made it impossible for Town to keep hold of him.

The deal is the most the club have recouped since Luton 2020 took charge and could rise to over £1million.

Managing director Gary Sweet said: “It was inevitable, during this period, that we would find it difficult to keep hold of a player who is a full England international.

“Cauley’s development since he has been with us has been astonishing and credit goes to Cauley and all those the coaching staff who have made him the player that saw Fulham warrant to pay a substantial amount of money for his talents.

“We have no alternative but to look at the bigger picture and there is no doubt that whilst we are selling a talented player this transfer further protects us the existing quality of our players in our centre of excellence which is beneficial for the long term future of our football club.

“Whilst we’re saddened to see Cauley leave, we are happy with the deal which could rise to seven figures, depending on Cauley’s success and which also provides us with a very healthy sell-on clause should Cauley’s career take him away from Fulham.”

The deal could go on to be the highest ever received by a non-league club.

Youth development officer Gregg Broughton said: “Although we are disappointed to lose a player of Cauley’s calibre, this move is one that will benefit Cauley, the club and all the young players in the centre of excellence.

“Money generated from this move will not only allow us to reinvest the funds for a category 2 academy status under the new Premier League ruling but, also, should the club be unable to achieve promotion this season, allow to safeguard the future of all our other young talents.

“Cauley came to us three years ago and during that time has been exceptional in everything he has done both on and off the pitch.

“His work ethic, attitude to training and ability to deal with the ups and downs during that period should act as an example to all of our other young players.

“It means we now have three players from this age group who are now plying their trade with Premier League clubs. Cauley joins David Moli at Liverpool and Lewis Baker at Chelsea.

“This is a record that our coaching and recruitment staff should be proud of and, although it is a shame none of these will feature in the youth team next season, it will give the rest of the year group a truly fantastic chance of fulfilling their potential.”