Town chief a long-time admirer of Luton's new signing Chong since his Manchester United spell

Luton boss Rob Edwards admitted he has been a long-time admirer of new signing Tahith Chong after the Hatters snapped up the winger from Birmingham City this morning for what is reportedly a club record fee.

The 23-year-old, who was born in Curacao but moved to Feyenoord as a youngster, moved to Premier League giants Manchester United in 2018.

It was while at Old Trafford that Edwards first clapped eyes on the Dutch youth international, when he was head coach of the U23s at his former side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Although Chong was playing out wide then, he has gone on to make a name for himself in a more central role since being sold to Birmingham City for a fee of £1.5m last summer, where he scored four goals in 41 appearances, with five assists as well.

That is where he could well feature for the Hatters too as Edwards told the club’s official website: “Tahith is someone that I, and the football club, have known for a very long time.

"I first crossed paths with him when I was at Wolves a few years ago and he was in Man United Under-23s.

“I’ve liked him from then, and he was a bit more of a winger at the time.

"Looking at him in a lot more detail at Birmingham this year, he’s been able to play inside as a midfield player as well.

“Not only is he good technically, but athletically he’s shown another side to his game this year in the Championship, that his out of possession work was diligent, hard-working and reliable.”

On just what he thinks Chong, who has also played for Werder Bremen and Club Brugge, plus featured in the Champions League and Premier League, can bring to the Hatters, Edwards added: “He gives us some real quality as well and with the ball, an end product.

"He’s at a good age and he’s going to keep improving.

"I think he’s coming into a good environment that’s going to help him do that, give him a platform that will help him take risks and be brave.

“He’ll make mistakes, but I think he’ll thrive in our environment and we are excited to get him in the building.”