Saddlers chairman hadn't wanted to sell in-demand striker Adebayo to Luton

Walsall chairman Leigh Pomlett conceded he hadn’t wanted to sell top scorer Elijah Adebayo to the Hatters on transfer deadline day.

The 23-year-old had been in impressive form at the Banks’s Stadium this season, scoring 10 goals in 25 League Two matches, however, the former Fulham attacker was out of contract in the summer, meaning that he could have left for nothing.

With the coronavirus pandemic hitting Walsall, as well as every other club in the league, hard in the pocket, then although Pomlett knew the decision to let Adebayo move to Kenilworth Road, plus selling Zak Jules to MK Dons, wouldn’t be well received by fans, but that it was needed to ensure the club survives.

He told the club's official website: “The financial situation for us is difficult to manage, every match we play is a loss-making event.

"My primary concern this year is to ride out the storm of the pandemic and make sure we are still here frankly, that we have a sustainable football club.

"The financial statements that I went through for the coming months were not good, and something had to give frankly in the football club to make sure that we become and remain sustainable.

"We played it pretty tough frankly and we waited until the very end of the window when the clock was ticking before we concluded the deals.

"I did not want to sell either of those two players, I wish they were still part of Walsall Football club.

“But there are economic realities we have to face and it goes back to sustainability and making sure we have a football club in the future.

"So it's a really tough decision to make to let those players go.

"Those players were offered opportunities in higher leagues, particularly Eligh and they wanted to go.

"So it's difficult to hold on to a player that wants to go, and in Elijah's case, as most of you know his contract expires at the end of the season, so you can only extract value on that particular deal while he’s in contract.

"So we really had to make a decision, a tough one, to allow him to go to Luton Town, against my judgement as a fan, but absolutely the right judgment in terms of the club and the situation going forward, and for him personally, he goes to the Championship and I wish him all the best.,

"Those that say we have made the wrong decisions, trust me, we have not.

“We did the right things, I still remain positive that we did the right things, not the particularly popular things, but the right things for the club.”