"Not the most inspiring" - Luton Town reaction given to £1.5m transfer "gamble" | OneFootball

FLW's Hatters pundit has his say on Luton's move for Exeter's Millenic Alli.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Luton Town are seemingly targeting a late transfer window spending spree, with Exeter City attacker Millenic Alli being their latest arrival Kenilworth Road.

The 24-year-old has been hugely impressive for the Grecians so far this season, having already netted nine league goals from 25 games, and it was reported on Wednesday that a £1.5 million deal has been agreed between the two clubs - one which has now been confirmed.

That is in addition to Luton's pursuit of Wycombe Wanderers talisman Richard Kone, with Town submitting multiple offers for the 16-goal Ivorian - the latest being worth £7 million.

A disappointing first half of the season for Luton ultimately led to Rob Edwards losing his job, and the board are now clearly looking to supply new boss Matt Bloomfield with the players he needs to rescue the team from their perilous position inside the Championship’s drop zone.

Luton Town reaction issued to Millenic Alli, Exeter City deal

The fact that there has been Championship interest in Alli comes as little surprise given the campaign that he has enjoyed up to this point.

Nine league goals by the end of January is a very respectable return for a man who has predominantly featured either in a second strike role or out wide.

Throw in four goals from 10 games in the second half of his debut campaign in Devon following his move from Halifax Town, and Alli’s time at St James’ Park has already proven to be very productive.

However, there will naturally be concerns over the level of experience that Alli has at this stage of his career. Prior to his move to League One last January, the attacker has spent his entire career plying his trade in the non-league pyramid.

Although the National League in particular has improved in standard drastically over the last 10 years, it’s still a huge jump to then be playing in the Championship within the space of just over a year.

With that in mind, we asked FLW’s resident Luton pundit, Simon Mills, for his thoughts on whether Alli represents an exciting deal for the Hatters, or whether it is too much of a gamble.

Simon told Football League World: “It is a bit of a gamble and maybe not the most inspiring potential signing of all time with Alli.

“But, we had a similar sort of reaction when we signed Elijah Adebayo from Walsall years ago - not necessarily inspiring, but he’s got the building blocks there to contribute to the team with some pace.

“He’s scored nine goals this season, albeit in League One, maybe it’s a deal worth looking at for £1.5 million. It’s not a fee that’s crazy in comparison to the £7 million reported fee by Sky Sports for Kone.”

Millenic Alli could be worth the gamble for Luton Town at low seven-figure price

Although Alli has spent the majority of his career in the non-league system, he could represent a very shrewd signing for Luton.

It is becoming more and more common to see players rising from non-league to the upper echelons of the pyramid, and Alli could prove to be another who slipped through the net of the big clubs as a youngster.

Just like the Hatters’ more-high profile target Kone, Alli has proven himself to be more than capable in the division below Luton.

While £1.5m is a sizeable fee for a player from the lower leagues, after their Premier League campaign last season, that fee will be a fairly insignificant one for Luton at this moment in time.

In addition, Exeter have a good track record of bringing through young talent and developing them ready to go on and play higher up the pyramid, whether that be players from their own academy or players they have plucked out of non-league.

With the deal to sign Alli now finalised, it is definitely fair to view it as a gamble, considering the fact he has never played higher than League One. However, for Luton, it is a gamble that they don’t really have a great deal to lose out on due to their positive finances.