Former Luton manager John Still says a host of clubs are paying ‘lots of attention’ to Maidstone United midfielder Saidou Khan, with reports in Kent naming the Hatters among those monitoring a player he has compared to Tottenham’s Harry Winks.
Town’s chief recruitment officer Mick Harford is reported to have been at the Stones’ 1-1 draw with Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday, where the 24-year-old made his return following a knee injury that has kept him out since early December.
Still, who is now head of football at the Stones, was a guest of the Hatters’ 2020 board at Kenilworth Road for Saturday’s 2-1 Championship defeat to Birmingham City.
The man who guided Town back to the Football League in 2014, told Kent Online: “There’s lots of attention on Saidou, lots and lots at the moment.
“As far as we’re concerned, like any player, if someone fancies them, they come in.
“He’s not available for transfer but if someone comes in and makes an offer, the club have to consider it, of course they do. It’s business.
“We’ve had lots of interest but he’s been out. The last few games there’s been a list of clubs that are looking at him and in the end they’re looking at no-one.
“There were quite a few at the Hemel game and their transfer window’s got another couple of weeks.”
The Maidstone midfielder had previously seen a move to MK Dons fall through in 2018, but at his current club there is another connection with the Hatters. Former first-team coach Hakan Hayrettin, who worked under Still at Kenilworth Road, is now head coach of the National League South outfit.
Still said in November that Khan will one day play in the Football League, comparing him to Spurs star Winks.
“His performances have been at a level that you’d like to think could take him to a higher level. How high? We don’t know,” Still said.
“If people had said to me that Warren Barton would go on to play for England and Dwight Gayle, Marlon King and Gary Breen would play in the Premier League, I don’t know if I would have said, ‘yeah, they will’ but I always felt they would progress. I feel the same with Saidou.
“This boy is going to progress, there’s no doubt about it whatsoever.
“He’s got all the ingredients and in less than half a season he’s grown beyond all recognition.
“As with all players, particularly young players, we give them a lot of information to take in.
“Some pick it up quickly and some take longer but his progress has been quite remarkable.”
“I think he’ll play in the Football League.
“If there’s a player he reminds me of at the moment, it’s Harry Winks. He’s that type.”
Talking about Khan’s attributes, Still added: “If you ask him to sit and set moves up, he can do that.
“If you ask him to get forward, which is a big part of his game, he can do that with pace and he can run with the ball.
“If you watch the boy Winks, he can get the ball in midfield and run with it but he also runs back and gets his foot in, which is what Saidou does.
“Every time Saidou’s on the ball, you think something’s going to happen.
“He’ll have a lull one day, they all do, but over the next year to 18 months he’ll keep growing, I really do believe that.”
