Luton Town may be confused after QPR, Richard Kone transfer update | OneFootball

Luton Town were close to signing Richard Kone in January for more than double his eventual price this summer

Richard Kone has made his long-anticipated move to the Championship, as QPR managed to secure his services after a breakout year at Wycombe Wanderers.

The 22-year-old scored 16 goals in 28 League One games before the end of January, and despite a tough end to the season for both himself and the Chairboys, Kone was still touted for a second-tier move this summer.

Preston North End, Leicester City and Swansea City were all interested, but it was Julien Stephan's QPR side who made the signing, and for just £2.75 million, plus any add-ons.

For those who watched him in League One last season, that resembles an absolute steal, as many have high expectations of him playing in the Premier League sooner rather than later.

But this wasn't a lowball offer, which Wycombe accepted. With a year remaining on his deal, the Chairboys almost had to sell him to avoid losing him for free this time next year.

Wycombe's stance on Kone's value has unfortunately decreased massively over the past eight months, and Luton Town will be the side feeling the most confused about this.

Richard Kone almost followed Matt Bloomfield to Luton Town

Kone image credit - Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)

Luton were in deep trouble under Rob Edwards in January last season, sleepwalking almost to a second consecutive relegation from the Premier League to League One.

The Hatters mutually agreed to let go of the man who led them to top-flight glory, and raided Wycombe for Matt Bloomfield, who had masterminded an incredible opening half of the season, which saw them keep pace with Birmingham City for the most part.

By deadline day in the January window, Luton were second-bottom in the Championship, having scored just 29 goals in 29 games. They needed an influx of goals to help drag them out of the relegation zone, so they turned to Wycombe again to try and bring in Kone, who had excelled under Bloomfield already that season, to lead the line.

In a desperate attempt to bring him to Kenilworth Road, Luton packaged a bid worth up to £7 million to pry him away from Adams Park.

Unfortunately, Wycombe themselves were embroiled in a very real promotion fight, and were six points clear of third place at the time of the bid. The Chairboys knew that keeping Kone would have been key to achieving that, so the deal never went through.

Under Mike Dodds, however, the 22-year-old couldn't keep up his impressive run in front of goal. Wycombe scored just 16 goals in the 18 League One games between February and May, picking up 14 fewer points than Wrexham and Stockport County and 16 fewer than Charlton Athletic, who all overtook them by the end of the campaign.

Wycombe would fail in the play-offs, and Luton ended up being relegated to League One, with both sides of the failed deal feeling aggrieved come May.

Wycombe will feel some frustration at not cashing in on Richard Kone in January

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and with it, Wycombe will be incredibly frustrated at not raking in £7 million for Kone a little over six months ago.

Whilst the £2.75 million resembles a brilliant piece of business for a player plucked out of the Essex Senior League, the Chairboys could have more than doubled their profits if they had just let the 22-year-old follow Bloomfield to Kenilworth Road.

Luton will always wonder 'what if' regarding a potential Kone move in late January, if the arrival of the Ivorian would have led to securing their Championship status. In the end, both the Hatters and Wycombe remain in League One, whilst the exciting striker now plays in the second tier, where both clubs would have liked to be this season.

Wycombe will feel a sense of frustration at not maximising their profits, whilst Luton will sense confusion that they weren't able to get a deal done, given how much Kone has left for this summer.