Jones’ belief swayed it for Adebayo in late Luton ‘smash-and-grab’ transfer raid

Luton were not on the radar of Elijah Adebayo until 5pm on transfer deadline day, but the striker quickly came to the conclusion that the club was the perfect destination for him. 

The 23-year-old swapped League Two Walsall for the Championship on Monday evening in a permanent switch, despite interest from Scottish side Hearts and a reported £250,000 bid from Huddersfield Town. 

Adebayo followed Stoke City’s Tom Ince (on loan) through the door just before the window shut, with boss Nathan Jones keen to ignite to Town’s firepower after netting just 21 times in the league this term. 

On his switch, the former Fulham Academy product said: “I wasn’t expecting it at all, it was kind of smash-and-grab really. I got a call about half five, five-ish, by that point I thought I was staying at Walsall, but I’m delighted to be here now, that it’s got over the line.

“It was like, ‘you might be going here, you might be going there’, and then I kind of got told, ‘you just never know, just keep your phone on, and we’ll see what comes later on’.

“Huddersfield was the prime destination as well, but that didn’t quite work out, so I’m happy that Luton have called and I’m happy to be here.”

Asked if he’d been aware of Luton, Adebayo said: “No, (they were) not on my personal radar, but I know they had a fantastic couple of years, getting promoted and establishing themselves in the Championship and the club’s ambition is to push on and get to the next level and I’m glad to be a part of that and be on the journey.”

The forward, who bagged ten goals for Walsall this term, had his first training session with Jones and his new team-mates, with the manager a major reason why he believes the Hatters are a good fit for him.  

“(He’s a) manager with a lot of ambition, but realistic,” said Adebayo, adding: “(He) told me that it’s a chance to develop and improve at a good age, to make sure that I’m constantly improving.

“It might be physically, mentally, things that are going to help me improve my game to get to the next level.

“When you’ve got a gaffer that wants nothing but the best and to improve you, you’ve got no other option really, I think that’s why it was the best destination for me.

“He’s a manager that knows what he wants. He wants to play a certain style of football, you can see that he is getting his message across to the boys and everyone is on board, everyone is willing to buy in to what he wants to do.

“That is what I want to do, I want to buy in to what he wants to implement to the group, as long as you are doing that, you are giving yourself the best chance.” 

With his stock on the rise at Walsall, Adebayo was aware of interest in him, but thought that the summer might be the time he had a decision to make.  

“It was flattering to get a few clubs interested now, but with everything that’s going on, with the pandemic and everything, I am very fortunate to have got my move now,” he said. 

“I’ve got to push on and I’m ready to learn and soak up as much as I can in order to push myself to make myself a better player.”