Hatters chief: Talks are ongoing with out of contract players but restrictions are in place

Town manager Nathan Jones knows he will have to work within the restrictions in place at Kenilworth Road when it comes to offering new contracts to the likes of top scorer James Collins

A number of Luton’s players will be free agents in the summer, including club captain Sonny Bradley, Matty Pearson, George Moncur and Collins, who was linked with a move to yesterday’s opponents Derby County in the week, plus fellow Championship side Preston North End and even the MLS, although Rams boss Wayne Rooney distanced himself from the speculation ahead of Hatters' 2-0 defeat at Pride Park.

The 30-year-old has scored 69 goals in 175 appearances for the club since arriving from Crawley Town in the summer of 2017, also winning eight Ireland caps, but lost his place recently to deadline day signing Elijah Adebayo, restricted to just 63 minutes in Town’s last four games, without a goal since the 1-1 draw against Huddersfield in early February.

When asked about how talks were going over Collins’ future, Jones said: “That’s something that is ongoing.

"We’ve got a few that are out of contract and a few that we'd like to keep, so that’s something that’s ongoing.

"There’s a few things, restrictions that we have at the club, and we want to make sure that we move forward on all levels.

"James has done brilliantly with us and we’ll open things up with James, but there’s a few that are out of contract that we have to sort their future out one way or another.”