Edwards declares Luton won't be under any financial pressure to sell during transfer window

Luton boss Rob Edwards believes the club are in the strongest position they have ever been to resist any unwanted advances for their players when the transfer window opens next month.

Although the Hatters haven’t been able to stave off relegation from the Premier League this term, they have still had a number of stars who have caught the eye, including Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris, who both reached double figures in their maiden top flight campaigns, with midfielder Ross Barkley also tipped to be interesting a host of clubs.

Centre backs Teden Mengi and Gabe Osho have been rumoured to be attracting potential suitors, with Alfie Doughty also enjoying an excellent season, returning eight assists. However, with Town’s coffers already boosted by the financial gains that reaching the highest tier in English football brings, plus a parachute payment coming their way as well, then although Edwards didn’t completely rule out any exits, he did state they won’t be under any requirements to sell.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, he said: “There’s no doubt about it, it’s the strongest the club has ever been. I can’t sit here and promise you that no-one’s going to go, but what I can say is we’re under no pressure to do that, that’s genuine and that’s honest. It’s got to be right for the football club and if it’s a real opportunity for someone to progress then there’s conversations to be had, but we are ambitious here and we don’t just want to sit still and go backwards.

“We want to be back there (Premier League) and the best chance of doing that is by keeping the majority of the group that we’ve got, so again I can’t sit here and say that everybody is going to be here as I haven’t got a crystal ball, I don’t know, but our aim is to try and keep as many as we can and be in a really strong position.

"It’s inevitable there’s always going to be a little bit of change, but if we’d have stayed up, that would have been the same. We’re in a good position, we’re in control of a lot of things, a lot of lads are still under contract, so we do have some control in that and some say in that, but we’ll always have to work out what is the best thing for the football club and there is a human side to everything as well.

"We’ll be in a really good position, I know that going into next season. Again we’ll stress, we do want to keep the majority of the group together and I’m pretty sure we will do that. We don’t know what’s going to happen, we’ve got a long couple of months ahead now, a period of time where not much is going to happen I’d have thought and then pre-season begins and things start ramping up a bit, so time will tell.

"We’re in a really healthy position to keep doing everything, grow the training ground, the stadium is obviously progressing all the time and a squad of players that I think is constantly improving. My challenge is for us, the recruitment team, board and everyone is to try and have a better squad at the start of next season to what we have, which is difficult but what we’ve got to try to push to achieve.”

Being in the top flight has certainly shone a light on Luton’s talented players though, as they now have now performed at the highest domestic level possible which could lead to the vultures starting to circle. Edwards wasn’t worried if their displays have ratcheted up the interest levels, as he continued: “We’re prepared for that, we’re under no immediate pressure to offload people, to raise funds, anything like that, we’re not at all.

"If anything was to be done, if anyone was to leave, it’s got to be right for the football club, it’s got to then be right, we think, for the players and all parties involved. We’ve got a plan and we’ve had a number of discussions already. We’ll be as ready as possible, but it’ll be a long season, the off-season. I don't think loads and loads of stuff will happen, people don’t really want to be buying people, paying them when they’re on the beach, so we’ve probably got another few months to be ready for all that sort of stuff."

Edwards also stated that as he knows full well his players, having had a taste of the bright lights of the top flight, will want to stay there, they don’t need to feel shy about communicating that to him, saying: “I completely understand it, I want to be in the Premier League so I know where they’re at and I can be honest with them as I know we all want to be there. The best way for us to get back there is to be together and try and do that together, but I completely understand as we’ve all loved it and we all want to be there again.

"So the lads don’t even need to tell me they want to be there as I know that, I get it. There’s nothing wrong with that either as we all want to be there as well. I can have some very open conversations with the players. I don’t think anyone’s got to feel like they can’t say that, they don’t have to as I already know. It’s just that it has to be right for us as well and the right thing for us is try and get back here.”

The Hatters chief has also begun discussions with those out of contract players in his squad ahead of announcing a retained list which will be released in the coming few weeks. With Luton signing 13 players last summer and a number of the existing squad who took Town to the top flight agreeing new and improved deals when promotion was secured, Edwards is looking to keep a large chunk of the current squad in place, as he said: “This week is where I’ve been quite busy speaking to a number of the lads and we’re trying to get through so everyone has a bit of clarity going into the final week.

“Most of it really is fairly straightforward, most of the lads are under contract and it will a case of okay, see you in pre-season, go away, thank you for this year and well done. There’s always one or two and in this situation honesty is always the right thing and that’s what we’ll try and be. We’ll certainly aim to keep as much of the group together as possible, because we’ve been building something.

"We made a lot of changes in the summer, I like a lot of what we’ve done, I like how the team has evolved and grown. I feel that’s the best way for us to go, so for us to attack the league and try to come back, again we know how difficult that is, this is not just assuming this is going to happen, but keeping the majority of the group together is certainly our aim.”

“We’ve got a really good group here that have competed very, very well in the Premier League, we’ve just come up short, but if we can keep the majority of that group, then we’ll be in good shape.”

Those who do remain might have to take a slight wage cut now Luton are plying their trade in the second tier again, but that will come as no surprise, with Edwards adding: “There’ll be stuff where maybe things drop, that’s the way smart clubs will be run. Obviously relegation was a thing we had to be aware of. We weren’t going to assume that, right, that’s it we’re here to stay, so we run the club well and financially that’s why we’re in a good place, but everyone signed their contracts and everyone knew what they were entering into.”