Luton Town: Rob Edwards may be wondering 'what if' over 10-goal EFL winger after summer pursuit | OneFootball

Rob Edwards may well be wondering how the 24/25 season for Luton Town could be playing out, had he signed Peterborough United's Kwame Poku

After failing to strike a deal to prize Kwame Poku away from Peterborough United, coupled with a hellish start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign at Luton Town, Rob Edwards may well be wondering what could've been.

Luton have failed to deliver upon expectations following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. Although the Hatters left the top-flight appearing to be in the finest health of all three newly-relegated outfits, they've started the worst by some distance and look a million miles off entering the promotion reckoning which Burnley and Sheffield United are both competing in at this moment in time.

They've been unable to get off the ground in the Championship this season and find themselves situated in 21st place heading into the November international break. With just two wins from their last nine matches and the wounds still very much present from Saturday afternoon's humiliating 5-1 defeat away to Middlesbrough, it's starting to appear as though Rob Edwards is on borrowed time at Luton.

Pressure had been growing against the ex-Forest Green Rovers and Watford boss for the previous few weeks, although the depleted manner in which they were swept away on Teesside has seemingly turned the tide now, with Edwards' future at the club now feeling rather precarious at best.

He's simply got to wonder, then, just how differently everything could be playing out - had he managed to successfully seal his pursuit of Peterborough's hotshot winger Poku.

Luton Town, Rob Edwards' failed transfer pursuit of Peterborough United's Kwame Poku

Speaking on his popular Hard Truth podcast days after the conclusion of the summer window, Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony revealed that Luton saw a late bid for Poku knocked back.

Poku, who has less than a year to run on his current contract, seemingly emerged as something of a hot property across the summer, with Luton having lodged a bid after losing Chiedozie Ogbene to Ipswich Town. Of course, though, Peterborough will be entitled to compensation for the 22-year-old due to his age if he does indeed depart without penning a new deal, meaning they're in no real rush to sell.

"Luton did come in quite late in the window for Kwame after they sold a winger to the Premier League," said MacAnthony.

"It was a good bid, one in the millions, but at that stage we just told them we weren’t selling Kwame. We are quite relaxed about Kwame, and he has been as good as gold about everything, because he will still be under 24 when his contract ends, so we would still get a fee for him.

"I’d expect to get bids similar to the ones we have already had."

Rob Edwards will now be wondering what-if at Luton Town amid failed Kwame Poku pursuit

Luton's form in the Championship this season has been difficult enough, and watching Poku's electrifying displays down the road at Peterborough will only add salt to the wounds as far as Edwards is concerned.

Capable of playing as either a winger or attacking midfielder, Poku has lit up the third-tier this term with a series of scintillating performances. After 15 matches, the Posh starlet has already won the League One Player of the Month award on two consecutive occasions, having scored the most goals in the division at the time of writing with 10 strikes and five assists on his stat-line.

He's been particularly unplayable as of late and scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 rout of Cambridge United over the weekend. With his quick, tricky feet, keen eye for a pass and explosive pace down the right-hand side, Poku is sure to attract significant interest in January and will likely now leave Peterborough for a much higher fee - compensation or otherwise - than what Luton were offering.

The Hatters, then, must be gutted to have fallen short in their efforts to land his signature. Although Poku has spent most of his young career beneath the Championship, his skill-set is easily translatable, and he's more than good enough to make the step-up.

The former Colchester United playmaker would've added a new dimension to this Luton side too, one which is sorely lacking in creativity and goal threat. With that in mind, it's difficult to escape the feeling of what could've been.

Peterborough invariably drives hard bargains for their prized assets, and rightly so, but there's a reasonable argument that Edwards' situation at Luton could've looked considerably different to what it resembles in reality had he been able to invest some of the club's parachute payments into signing Poku.