"Would be forced to sell" - Pundit issues Luton Town, Alfie Doughty transfer claim amid £15m valuation | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer discussed Alfie Doughty's future at Luton Town amid reports about his £15million price-tag

Former England international Carlton Palmer believes that if Luton Town receive an offer of over £15 million for Alfie Doughty, they will be forced to sell him before the transfer window closes.

It was reported over the weekend by Alan Nixon via his Patreon that the Hatters had set a £15million asking price for the 24-year-old, with a number of Premier League clubs reportedly interested in the wing-back following his performances in the top flight of English football last season.

Doughty started Luton's first two Championship games of the current season against Burnley and Portsmouth, but until the transfer window slams shut later this month, there's always a risk that he could depart, and Rob Edwards will be desperate to keep him as he'll play an important role in trying to help the Hatters make an immediate return to the Premier League.

It's been far from an ideal start for Luton, having picked up just one point from their opening two games, but with 44 games yet to play, there's still plenty of time to turn it around.

Carlton Palmer believes Luton Town will sell Alfie Doughty if the price is right

Ex-top flight player and current pundit Carlton Palmer believes that Luton could be forced to sell Doughty to balance the books, should the right offer come in this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer said: "It’s not been the start that Luton Town wanted. They had an opening day drubbing by Burnley and then had a man sent off and managed to draw away to Portsmouth. But listen, there’s only two games gone and there’s a long way to go this season.

“One player who has attracted a lot of attention and has played the opening two games, who I thought was outstanding on Saturday against Portsmouth is Alfie Doughty.

"He’s attracting a lot of interest from Premier League clubs, but Luton Town have said they want £15 million for him. “You have to keep your better players and obviously Luton would be one of the favourites to get automatic promotion this season, but unfortunately, if Premier League clubs are going to come knocking, the player will want to play in the Premier League, and you have to balance your books with your Premier League wages and your Championship wages. “I’m sure that Rob would like to keep hold of Alfie, and he showed his quality again on Saturday when Luton went down to 10 men, but obviously, money will talk. “I’m sure that if an offer comes in that exceeds £15 million, I think Luton would be forced to sell in terms of balancing the books as well.

“Their main priority will be keeping the player as they look to return to the Premier League, but if the type of money being mentioned is offered, we will see the player move on.”

Losing Alfie Doughty at this stage of the transfer window would be a huge blow for Luton Town

Losing a player of Doughty's quality would be bad enough at any time, let alone with just over ten days remaining of the transfer window.

This would mean that Luton don't have much time to find an adequate replacement and could either be forced into a panic buy, or may not replace him, which would significantly weaken their chances of promotion.

Doughty impressed in the Premier League last season, and it's easy to see why clubs are interested in him, but it appears that Luton won't be selling for a cut-price after slapping a £15million price-tag on him.

Every player has a price, and if an attractive offer came in that felt right for Luton, they'd be well within their rights to sell him, but given how late it is in the window, it would take something special for the Hatters to part with the 24-year-old.

It's not been an ideal start to the season at Kenilworth Road and losing Doughty at this stage would make matters worse and could cause unrest amongst supporters.

If Luton are to be in the mix for promotion this season, then Doughty will play a very important role, and losing him at this stage of the window would be a serious blow to their chances of making an immediate return to the top-flight.