Rob Edwards said he was always confident that Teden Mengi would remain a Luton player when the transfer window closed, despite rumours linking the defender with a move to Torino.
Reports from Italy suggested the 22-year-old had agreed personal terms and that the Serie A side were aiming to sign Mengi on an initial loan with an option to buy for €5-6million.
However, with just over 24 hours of the window left, Edwards was strong in his stance on rumours linking his players with moves away in the final days of the window, saying clubs could not “take the mick”.
And Mengi’s name on the team sheet for Friday’s 2-1 Championship defeat to QPR confirmed that the centre half was staying at the club, and he played the second half after Reece Burke was withdrawn at half time to protect for the former West Ham man, to protect him after a lengthy injury.
“I’ve been pretty confident all along,” Edwards said of Mengi remaining a Hatter.
“I know there’s been so much talk and rumours and it’s helpful, but that happens. We’re pleased. I think when he’s when he’s right at it, at this level, I think he can be really, really effective.”
Mengi couldn’t prevent QPR’s equaliser after new recruit Mark McGuinness had made an initial error under a high ball, which allowed Michael Frey to set off on a bulldozing run towards Town’s goal, where he beat the former Manchester United man on his way to teeing up Nicolas Madsen.
Edwards said: “The goals were were really, really disappointing. We’ve been saying that for obviously for too long. And, again, it’s on me, so I’m not blaming anyone now. People can make mistakes. Human beings can make mistakes. But then there’s got to come a point where, right, we’ve got to we’ve got to do all that better.
“We’ve got the press on really, really well, forced them to go long. We’ve got to deal with the long ball. But even when we don’t, we’ve still got the numbers and the coverage to make sure we deal with it. We didn’t. It’s too easy for them to score that first goal, which which rocked us for a minute or two.”
