Posh chief hails Harford and Sweet over Taylor deal and makes big claim on his future

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet (left) and recruitment manager Mick Harford (right) unveil new Hatters boss Rob Edwards
Luton chief executive Gary Sweet (left) and recruitment manager Mick Harford (right) when they unveiled new Hatters boss Rob Edwards in November 2022

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has hailed Luton’s new signing Joe Taylor as the next Craig Mackhail-Smith and praised Town’s deal-makers Mick Harford and chief executive Gary Sweet over the transfer deadline day swoop. 

The Hatters brought in the 20-year-old just before the transfer window shut yesterday after forward Harry Cornick was sold to Bristol City.

Taylor had only made 15 appearances in all competitions for Posh and their chief responding to a fan on Twitter said he was sold, wrote it was because ‘Managers weren’t going to play him that’s why’.

Upon announcing his signing, Luton’s chief recruitment officer Mick Harford said of Taylor: “He needs a little bit of work and time, but we believe we can develop him into a top striker here.”

And MacAnthony has praised the approach from Luton. Answering a fan question about what Town are like to deal with as a club, he wrote on his social media account, ’Superb. Mick Harford & Gary S brilliant people in our industry’.

While Hatters manager Rob Edwards said Taylor is “still inexperienced at the moment, but we feel he will be a really good asset for the club going forward”, MacAnthony hinted at the player Town could have on their hands and the comparison is a familiar name to supporters of both clubs. 

He wrote: ‘All the best Joe. Go prove all the managers wrong & kill it at Luton young man. £5 grand well spent 12 months ago. The new CMS Luton fans.’

Mackahil-Smith made his name at Peterborough in a goal-laden four-year spell at the Cambridgeshire club from 2007.

He then moved to Brighton and Hove Albion for an initial transfer fee of £2.5 million, becoming a Scottish international before joining Luton in 2015, to link up with manager John Still after he played for him early in his career at Dagenham and Redbridge. 

While Taylor won’t have commanded such a high fee, with the amount officially ‘undisclosed’, Peterborough chief MacAnthony joked that he had made ‘120 times what I paid for him’, which would be £600,000.