Hatters boss confident he can help get the best out of Luton striker Adebayo

Town boss Rob Edwards is confident he can help to get the best out of striker Elijah Adebayo once more this season.

The 24-year-old who was signed from Walsall back in February 2021, burst on to the scene in his first full season at Kenilworth Road, scoring 17 goals last term, his injury severely restricting Luton’s ability to make it past Huddersfield Town in the play-offs.

Speculation was rife that the forward, who came through the ranks at Fulham and has also played for Swindon, was being heavily looked at by clubs in the Premier League, with Major League Soccer side DC United, managed by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney also interested.

Expected to push on again this term, it has been a different story so far, with Adebayo not scoring in his opening 10 games, admitting after his double against Huddersfield that he had been suffering with some off the field problems.

On target again as Luton beat QPR 3-1 on October 15 to make it three in three, those remain his only goals so far, as he has now gone eight matches without finding the net.

He was given the nod by Edwards in the manager’s opening game at Middlesbrough, replaced on 67 minutes of the 2-1 defeat without ever looking like testing home keeper Zack Steffen.

On how he has found Adebayo since taking over though, Edwards said: “I’ve loved working with him, loved working with him.

"He’s a brilliant person, he’s someone that we’re really going to be able to, I think, help.

"He’s really open to learning, a great character, he’s all about the team, which can be rare for forward players, but he’s also got that selfish streak that he wants to score and hopefully we can help him.

"Players’ performances are ultimately down to them, but hopefully we can give him a good environment, a platform, give him the time to try and help with the little areas we think we can to get the best out of him.

"But Eli’s made of the right stuff, he’s a great character. I’m sure he’s going to be scoring goals very soon, because he’s got a heck of a lot of talent as you’ve already seen before and we know he can do it at this level.

"It’s important that we simplify the game, be in the right area at the right time, and that more often than not is in between the posts and keep focus on that.”

Edwards kept faith with an Adebayo and Carlton Morris pairing upfront at the Riverside Stadium, as when asked how dangerous proposition a proposition the duo can be at Championship level, he added: “I think it is, but I think we’ve got other really good players as well.

“We’ve got Cauley Woodrow coming back, we’ve got Cameron (Jerome), we’ve got Harry (Cornick), so we’ve got some really good combinations of players that offer us different things.

"But the two players that you mentioned have worked well together and you’re right, when they’re at it, can be a really tough test for any defender.”