Joe Taylor would have got a move away from Luton if the club could have brought a striker in before the transfer window closed, but now boss Rob Edwards says the youngster must now fight for his place.
Town had wanted to bring a forward to the club, with Leicester City’s Tom Cannon one of the targets, and if they had succeeded in signing for an attacker, Taylor was poised to move, with Huddersfield heavily linked.
However, Cannon moved to Stoke City on loan, Luton weren’t successful in their striker search and Taylor was named in the squad for Friday’s 2-1 Championship defeat to QPR.
“We wanted to get the right thing for Joe,” said Edwards of a potential transfer window switch, adding: “And we were still working on one or two other bits. And maybe if something would have come off then, then maybe it would’ve been the right thing for Joe, because we want him playing.
“But it’s good that he’s here now, and he can play here. He’s got to try and force his way into the team.”
The 21-year-old came on a substitute for the final 15 minutes against QPR – his third appearance off the bench this term – and had a golden chance to rescue a point at the death but he headed over from close range.
The miss leaves Taylor still searching for his first Hatters goal, since signing from Peterborough in January 2023, though he spent last term on loan at Lincoln and Colchester, scoring 22 goals split across the two clubs.
Edwards said: “There’s been a lot of talk about him, and he’s scored goals in lower leagues, but there’s other things to his games where we want to continue to work on and make sure that, and it’s down to us now, while he’s in the building, to help him do that.
“But look, I’m pleased. I’m pleased he’s here. He can he can be an asset for us.”
