Hatters boss denies Luton have made a bid for Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano

Luton boss Rob Edwards has denied once more that Hatters have made a bid for young Ecuadorian midfielder Oscar Zambrano during the current January transfer window.

The 19-year-old has been impressive form for his Ligapro Serie A Segunda side LDU Quito this term, making 14 appearances, also playing in the Copa Sudamericana as well, and was due to be involved in his country’s U23 squad later this month, but has since been withdrawn, fuelling rumours of a move to England.

Town have been linked with the player since last year, head scout Phil Chapple flying out to Argentina to watch the teenager, along with a number of other talented youngsters, in action back in October, while Edwards stated back in December that he felt the Ecuadorian club had been using the Hatters to try and ‘drum up’ some interest in the midfielder.

LDU Quito director Esteban Paz had told South American outlet Olé at the time that a number of clubs were interested in Zambrano, name-checking the Hatters as one of them, while reports resurfaced again this week, some outlets claiming Luton had put another offer in. They did however also state Town were in danger of being usurped by a number of their Premier League rivals including AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and even Manchester United, the Red Devils eager to put the memory of missing out on fellow countryman Moises Caicedo, who went on to cost Chelsea £115m, behind them.

However, with clubs allowed to sign players until February 1, when asked if a bid had been registered, Edwards said: “No, there’s not been, no. We’ve had this conversation quite a few times and we have been linked with him and it’s news to me that it keeps cropping up. It’s not something that I’m pushing from my side, so we’re aware of him, a really good young player, but I don’t think there’s too much in that.”