Manager Graeme Jones revealed that Cardiff match winner Isaac Vassell was on his way to Luton until the Bluebirds swooped in ahead of them on transfer deadline day.
The former Hatter punished his old club with an injury time header, moments after coming off the bench, to take all the points and break Town hearts after Matty Pearson had headed an 86th minute equaliser.
Vassell left Town two years ago to join Birmingham City and had looked likely to return, with Jones keen on adding him to his squad.
But the Hatters boss admitted before the window shut on Thursday that the situation was complicated and so it proved with Cardiff splashing the cash to lure Vassell to Wales.
Jones said: “At one stage he was coming. Obviously then other clubs get involved, there’s a financial aspect that we find difficult to compete with, so that’s one of these things.
“Isaac was just on the end of a cross, it’s nothing like, wow, Isaac Vassell was incredible today.
“He came on, he scored the goal, but we should have stopped the cross, we should have punched the cross, we shouldn’t have given it away in the first place.
“That’s more disappointing than not signing Isaac Vassell.”
