Jones snapped up Walsall striker Adebayo ahead of schedule to avoid price doubling in the summer

Luton boss Nathan Jones swooped early to bring in Walsall striker Elijah Adebayo on deadline day and avoid being caught in a bidding war for the forward during the summer.

The 23-year-old had caught the eye at the Banks’s Stadium this season, already reaching double figures in 25 League Two games, with a double in the 3-1 win at Port Vale recently.

He bagged eight in 30 the previous term as well, and could well have been even more of a wanted man when the window opened again had Luton not firmed up their interest and won the race for his signature with a successful bid on Monday.

Speaking about his purchase, Jones said: “What we didn’t want to do was wait until the summer because what happens if he scores ten goals from now until the summer?

“Suddenly his price doubles, suddenly there is more competition.

"So we have to identify them early and as I said, we would have waited for the summer but business that we couldn’t quite do meant we had scope because he was our 25th player to put in the squad and you can only have 25.

“We didn’t just want to bring in numbers, he now gets four months within our environment where he gets to learn, he gets to develop but also, I want him to impact.

"We get the bonus of him impacting from now until the end of the season.”

Adebayo has only played in senior football for just four years, having come through the ranks at Fulham, where he didn't figure for the Cottagers first team, heading out on loan to Cheltenham, Swindon and Stevenage.

Having not played higher than the fourth tier of the footballing echelon, Jones won’t be putting too much weight on his new addition’s shoulders either, continuing: “He’s a bit more of an emerging one you would say.

“He’s had a decent pedigree at Fulham and then gone on loan, he’s found a little bit of a home at Walsall.

“He’s done very well, and comes with real attributes that are difficult to find, in terms of size, athleticism, he scores goals, so it’s about us polishing that and fine-tuning him and getting him so that he can a potent threat for us.

"Now that might take a little bit of time so we’re not going to rush him, but he’s played games, he’s scored goals, he’s done well at League Two level.

"It’s important that his transformation into a Championship player is a good one.”

With a number of fellow Championship sides using their greater wealth to bring in a more experienced frontman for the remainder of the season, Jones was happy with the deal Town did, which will allow the Hatters to put some real work into their new recruit.

The boss added: “If you don’t know about our recent history and the history before because Luton had a very good history of developing players, this club has always had a history of doing that.

"We have got a history of developing players because we have since we have been here, Jack (Marriott) has gone, Cameron (McGeehan), Isaac (Vassell) has gone, James (Justin) has gone, Jack Stacey has gone and that is because one way or another, it was good for the football club.

"We have that record of working with people, we have managed to do that whilst improving results as well which is a good thing.

"If we can continue to do that whilst continuing to be very competitive at this level, then that is excellent because we have to.

"We can’t go out and buy Charlie Austin, Derby have gone out and brought Lee Gregory this week but we couldn’t do that.

"We cant go and spend £2 million on Sam Cosgrove (Birmingham City), that isn’t us.

"So what we have to do is be a little clever, get them a little earlier and then work with them, that is what we’ve done.

“It is brilliant, that is probably why I was employed for the football club and it is a great way of working.

"Yes it would be nice sometimes to bring in slightly more ready-made stuff but ready-made, at the age we want them, costs millions, so we are not that club.

"What we do is we get them at the age we want them and then we have to convert them but it is important that we still have that continuity with the likes of Kal Naismith for example who we brought in because he has done the level.

"Whilst others are developing and improving, we have others around them that are comfortable at the level, so it is important.

"Even Man United ones that are top end ones, they didn’t have eleven of them they had four or five at a time then they had absolute world-beaters around them so lets not forget we have a good balance here.

"We are very pleased, we like the environment we have and people like improving.

"Kal Naismith will improve here, we’ll do something different to what he has done under Paul Cook, not better, not worse, but something different.

"So he will have all that education Paul Cook gave him and the education we will so it is a good place to be in.”