Edwards praises Town's recruitment of 'immense' centre half from Manchester United

Luton boss Rob Edwards delivered some glowing praise to the club’s recruitment of defender Teden Mengi after he produced a performance described as ‘immense’ by his manager during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

The 21-year-old was brought in from Old Trafford back in August, with Edwards stating at the time how there wouldn’t be any rush for the youngster to break into the first team, with the centre half possibly looked at as a player for the future.

However, injuries to Reece Burke, Mads Andersen and Dan Potts have meant that Mengi has become an option very much for the here and now, starting the Hatters’ last five top flight matches.

Solid defensively in that time, he demonstrated an eye for a goal too, opening his account at the weekend with an excellent close range finish to put his side in front, but that only tells half the story.

With the Eagles, who levelled through Michael Olise, piling on the pressure during the closing stages to try and find an equaliser after Jacob Brown had put Town back in front, Mengi and his fellow Luton defenders were simply outstanding in preserving their lead.

The ex Red Devils U18s captain managed 10 clearances in total, with three tackles, one interception and a blocked shot too during the near enough 115 minutes of football played. He was backed up by eight clearances from Gabe Osho, plus six from Tom Lockyer and Amari’i Bell, as Town’s players made 39 in total, 20 more than their opponents needed to.

With the trio of centre halves winning seven aerial battles as well, speaking specifically about Mengi, who is now quickly establishing himself as a key component to the Hatters’ defence, giving Edwards a real selection headache when everyone is fit, the Luton chief said: “I’m really pleased for him. I thought he was immense, I thought he was really, really good, in the air he was dominant, in his duels he came out on top.

“He’s quick, he’s strong, he can play and he can finish as well. He’s a really good young player and that’s why we got him here. He’s really proving an excellent acquisition at the moment and the recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for that. “

Fellow goalscorer Brown was equally impressed, continuing: “He’s solid at the back, he’s a really good player and I was buzzing for him to get the goal as he deserves it. He works really hard, and that just shows it’s a team performance and we’re all working hard together.