Hatters boss glad he stepped in to prevent Hylton leaving in the transfer window as the Luton striker is now proving he is a Championship player

Luton boss Nathan Jones is glad he stepped in to prevent striker Danny Hylton leaving the club during the transfer window last month.

The forward, who turned 33 yesterday, came off the bench to score the winner in today’s 1-0 victory against Derby County at Kenilworth Road, a result that lifted Town into the top six of the second tier.

After also finding the net in midweek as Luton won 2-1 against Stoke City, Hylton conceded there had been chances to leave the club last month, but that he always wanted to stay and fight for his place.

Jones was happy that was the case and eventually pulled the plug on any possible move away, as he always felt a fully fit Hylton could be a real threat at this level, saying: “I’m so glad we didn’t (let him leave), we had to have a few chats and I stepped in in the end because I didn’t want him to go.

“I wanted to be fair to him in terms of prolonging his career and so on, but he can prolong his career here, so that’s what we said.

“I said, ‘you come, you contribute and you play games, and you do what Danny Hylton does and your career will last a bit longer here.’

“I knew he could do that, it’s just him staying fit, that’s the only thing as some of his performances when he played against higher division sides were phenomenal.

“I know Danny Hylton is a Championship player, I've always known Danny Hylton is a Championship player.

“When I met him in the Noke Hotel in 2016, I told him he was a Championship player, a lot of people didn't realise that, but that’s why he came and signed for us, and now he’s proving that.

“It’s taken him a long time, but now he’s proving that.”

Hylton, who had scored 60 goals in 159 outings for the Hatters after arriving in the summer of 2016, has always been a firm favourite with the Town fans for the role he played in seeing the club rise up the footballing echelon, on target 50 times in his first two seasons for the club.

After replacing Henri Lansbury early in the second half against Derby this afternoon, goal number 61 came following a fine knock-down from fellow replacement Cameron Jerome, as he took a touch and glided a shot into the bottom corner.

It was Hylton's third of the season and first time finding the net at home since March 2019, when the injury problems that had threatened to end his stint in Bedfordshire began.

However, after fighting back to first team contention, Jones was elated to see him prove the match-winner in front of the Kenilworth Road faithful, adding: “It’s a credit to him.

“I’m really proud of him and everyone at this football club should be really proud of Danny Hylton because he’s had a tough time.

“He was the catalyst for us being this wonderful club we are, he really was.

“He was one of the first, I know we signed Glen Rea, we signed Alan Sheehan, but with the greatest of respect, when I brought Danny in, it made people stand up and then he was a real catalyst for how we play, the energy we play with, the goals we score and everything, and I don’t forget that.

“There was times when he was a Championship player playing in League Two.

“We went to Newcastle in the FA Cup and he terrorised two Premier League centre halves and that’s when I knew he was a Championship player.

“He’s had a tough time with injuries, he’s had to battle back and the club has shown a lot of faith in him, I’ve shown a lot of faith in him, but he always repays that faith and I see him on a day to day basis.

"He’s the most wonderful human being, he really is, he’s a clown at times but he’s the most wonderful human being.

“I’m so pleased for him because he’s had to battle back for this and he’s earned that.

"I couldn’t think of any other human being I would rather score a winning goal here today.

“It was a great finish, great ball in to Cameron, Cameron does wonderfully well to control the knock down and then Danny finishes with aplomb.

"To hear the fans singing his name was wonderful and he’s earned that, he really has.”