Luton Town hit the jackpot with £250k striker transfer - He still has more to offer | OneFootball

Elijah Adebayo made the jump from League Two to the Championship, and then the Premier League, seem effortless.

Luton Town have been on quite a journey over the past few seasons, as they've risen from League Two to the Premier League and then back to League One in the space of eight years.

Whilst the prospect of a season in the third tier seems a frustrating one in the eyes of many Hatters fans, the majority of them still have fond memories of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, as Luton were successful in the Championship play-offs and then were an incredibly entertaining side in their sole Premier League campaign.

Carlton Morris stole the striker headlines throughout that time, and rightfully so, as he led the side in goals during those seasons, but Elijah Adebayo's contributions to the side's rise simply can't be understated.

For a mere £250,000 from Walsall, Adebayo has paid Luton back in spades, and now with Morris out of the door, he has the opportunity in League One to rediscover his goalscoring prowess when he becomes fit enough to do so.

Last season was a write-off for most of the Luton squad who played a part in their meteoric rise, as the Hatters suffered an unlikely back-to-back relegation into League One.

Surprisingly enough, it'll be the first time that Adebayo has played in the third tier, which makes his ability to adapt to Championship football so quickly after making the move from Walsall even more impressive.

Adebayo had spent a season and a half in League Two with the Saddlers, netting 18 in 55 games. This included 10 in 25 in the first half of the 2020/21 campaign, which prompted Luton to make a move for him on deadline day in February 2021.

The then-23-year-old scored twice and assisted once in his first two Championship starts, against Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday, before ending his first half-season starting all but one of the remaining 14 second-tier games, and helping the Hatters to a solid 12th-placed finish.

His five goals represented a solid return in his first taste of Championship football at Kenilworth Road, but there was still so much more to come from him in a Hatters shirt.

The following two seasons would see Luton explode and become a play-off-challenging side, with two consecutive top-six finishes and an eventual promotion at the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign.

Adebayo's first full season in the Championship saw him score 16 times in 21/22, but it was a season where Aleksandar Mitrovic scored 43 and four other players netted over 20, so his tally went under the radar, but it represented the most in a side that finished in sixth.

That summer, after losing to Huddersfield Town in the play-offs, Luton signed Carlton Morris, who would go on to score 20 in his debut campaign at Kenilworth Road.

Adebayo's goal tally would understandably decrease as a result, but he did still contribute seven important goals, and one in the 2-1 play-off semi-final first leg defeat against Sunderland, before the Hatters overturned that deficit in the second leg by winning 2-0.

Adebayo would then play 106 minutes of the play-off final win against Coventry City, and even grabbed the assist for Luton's opener scored by Jordan Clark, before the game was eventually decided on penalties, with Luton winning 6-5.

Completing a remarkable rise for both himself and the club, Adebayo was now playing in the Premier League a mere two and a half years after he lined up in the fourth tier.

Luton may have suffered relegation in the 2023/24 campaign, having picked up just 32 points, but Adebayo made a good account for himself in the top flight, scoring ten, which included a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Elijah Adebayo has the chance to set League One alight when he returns from injury

The 27-year-old did have goal-scoring flurries during his return to the Championship, but ultimately his five goals weren't enough to save Luton from a second successive relegation.

Adebayo missed the final six games of the season after being forced off in Luton's 1-1 draw with Leeds United with an ACL injury.

He'll face a lengthy period on the sidelines, but when he returns, he'll have the drive to show that he can still be a solid striker option at Kenilworth Road after a hugely forgettable season.

Luton have lost Morris this summer, and have replaced him with Nakhi Wells, who is a very solid attacker at the level. Adebayo will have to compete with not just Wells, but the likes of Jacob Brown and Millenic Alli for a place up top when he returns.

The 27-year-old has a lot to prove when he does come back - he has to show people that he is still a good attacking option at Kenilworth Road.