"Crystal ball" - Rob Edwards makes Luton Town transfer window prediction | OneFootball

The boss has set out his thoughts on what the remaining days of the window could look like.

Key Takeaways

Rob Edwards isn't expecting to lose any more of his Luton Town stars before the transfer window closes on August 30th.

Coming down from the Premier League to the Championship can put teams in precarious positions in the transfer market. Teams from Luton's former division will know which players are capable of playing at that level, and will try to use the standings advantage they have over them to poach their best players.

So far, the Hatters have done a pretty good job of retaining their top talent. The only real big losses from last year's squad have been Ross Barkley and Gabriel Osho, who have joined Aston Villa and French side Auxerre respectively.

Andros Townsend also looks set to move on, with a transfer to Turkish side Antalyaspor looking likely for the 33-year-old who featured in Rob Edwards' squad to face Burnley in their opening game of the 2024/25 campaign.

The rest of the team remains intact, at least for now. There has been reported top-flight interest in star wing-back Alfie Doughty, who shone at the highest level last time out, providing 10 combined goals and assists for Luton, who are said to want £15 million for him, as per Alan Nixon.

Even with the rumours about clubs looking at his top options, the Hatters' boss doesn't appear to be losing too much sleep over the prospect of them leaving.

Rob Edwards not expecting any more Luton stars to leave

The Welshman admitted that he can't predict the future, but he believes that he will keep the current group of players that he has until after the deadline on the 30th.

Edwards said, via Luton Live: "I’ve not got a crystal ball, so I don’t know if a big offer comes in for someone and we feel it’s the right thing for the players and the football club, I don’t know that, so that’s a little bit out of our control.

"As far as where we’re at right now and where we stand, probably (no more exits), but we’ll see what we get in and if there’s someone who we feel is right to go on loan and get some football then we can have a look at that as well. I don’t think there’ll be any permanents going out unless it’s a lot of money and it’s something we feel we can improve on."

On the opposite side of the transfer coin, the Hatters are looking to back up their addition of Cardiff City's Mark McGuinness with another addition in defence - Standard Liege's Nathan Ngoy. The versatile 21-year-old is the topic of discussion between the two clubs, with talks said to be advanced over a €5 million (~ £4.25 million) deal.

Luton must have a positive transfer flow in the remaining days of the window

If they are to mount a serious challenge for the top spots in this division, then Luton cannot afford to sell more than they buy before the window closes.

By the sounds of what Edwards has said, the chances of that happening are likely, which should be encouraging, but things can develop quickly at this stage of proceedings.

Defensive stability is an area that they clearly need, and are trying, to address. McGuinness and Ngoy would add depth to a backline that is currently stretched, but they will need more than that.

They need to be ahead of the curve in this final week or so.