Luton chief will welcome any phone calls for his Hatters players during summer transfer window

Luton boss Rob Edward has stated he will welcome any interest in his players when the summer transfer window opens up for business on June 14.

Despite being in the relegation zone with two games to go, the Hatters squad have shown with increasing regularity that they can cope in the top flight, with a number looking proven performers at this level now. Strikers Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris both have 10 goals each, while Teden Mengi and Thomas Kaminski have been stars in the Hatters’ back-line, with midfielder Ross Barkley no doubt having a host of suitors looking at him even if Town can avoid relegation back to the Championship.

Edwards is braced for the potential conversations to be had, but insists it can be viewed as a good thing for the club, saying: “There’s been a number of lads who have stepped up and shown their quality this year which is great, great for them. It’s what we wanted, we wanted them to showcase ourselves on the biggest stage and I think we’ve given a really good account of ourselves and the players have done that as well.

"So at the end of every season, there’s always interest and now because they’ve shown it on the biggest stage, the phone may ring about one or two and do you know what, we welcome that. It doesn’t mean people are going to go, but it shows that we’ve done some stuff right.”

One player in particular who has caught the eye in the second half of the season is striker Elijah Adebayo. The former Fulham youngster returned from a lengthy hamstring injury to score a terrific goal during the 1-1 draw against Everton on Friday night, as he outmuscled Ashley Young inside the area to chest down Sambi Lokonga’s lofted pass and beat England number one Jordan Pickford with a high class finish.

It took him into double figures for the season, his last eight coming in just 11 league outings, as Edwards knows his absence was a huge blow to the Hatters’ survival hopes, continuing: “Of course, here’s several key players that we’ve missed and to be honest while he was out, we did well to still remain a goal threat and score goals, but with him, of course we’re stronger.

“He’s quite unique, there’s not many people like him in the league. He’s six foot five, strong, quick and he’s really improved as well. All round game, pressing, hold up play, threat and I think you look at his stats, he’s been pretty deadly in front of goal, so he gives us another edge.”

Having got 15 minutes against Wolves, Adebayo then started the 1-1 draw with Everton, lasting 80 minutes on this occasion, as he is now fully ready to face West Ham tomorrow, Edwards adding: “He’s good. The plan was to push him as long as he could go. He started looking over and saying right, now’s probably the right time, so we did well with that, we listened to him and he listened to his body. We’ve managed him well throughout the week, so he’ll be better for that and for the week’s training.”