Hatters chief reveals the main reason behind Adebayo's rise to becoming a feared Premier League striker

Luton boss Rob Edwards believes that it’s pure work-rate that has seen Elijah Adebayo become one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League over recent weeks.

The 26-year-old went from scoring two in his first 14 appearances, with a number of those outings coming from the bench as Carlton Morris was preferred in the lone striker’s role, to seven in nine, including a first hat-trick at this level for the Hatters since Lars Elstrup scored a treble against Norwich City in 1990. The forward also had the best shot-on-target conversion success rate from player with over five goals in the top flight at a staggering 80 percent ahead of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United,, and just on how he feels the attacker has turned things around on a personal level this term, Edwards said: “I think it comes from, I genuinely believe this as well, I think it comes from the work-rate and it’s not just aimless running around.

"He knows exactly what he’s doing in terms of his press and how hard he’s working for the team. Off the back of that he’s in the game more as hopefully we’ll be winning it back more and we have the ball a little bit more so we can involve him in the game more. He’s getting the timing of his movements, he’s improving that, he’s still running in behind, so he’s mixing his game up well. He’s tidying his feet up and his all-round play, so there’s many, many things that he’s improved on, but also then he’s arriving in the box at the right time for a one touch finish, which for a striker, for a number nine, is the key thing.

"He’s in the right place at the right time to get on the end of big chances and I think he did well even when he wasn’t starting games. He was coming on and he scored some goals off the bench, influenced the games and impacted the games. Against Burnley and Forest, Villa he was involved in a goal as well, so he deserved his opportunity to start and he’s certainly taken that.”

With Adebayo having come up through the leagues after leaving Fulham, going to Stevenage, Cheltenham, Swindon and Walsall, his career has taken off massively since moving to Kenilworth Road in February 2021, hitting the net 41 times in 137 matches. He is now one goal away from becoming the first Luton player to reach double figures in the top flight since Mick Harford in 1992 as well, as Edwards continued: “Eli’s recognising that what gets him the success is the hard work.

"He’s been brilliant for us since he’s come into this football club, a huge part of us achieving promotion. He’s been steadily improving like we all have in this season so far in the Premier League. It’s the hard work, it’s stay consistent, keep your feet on the floor, and keep doing the right things, that's what we’re trying to stress to all of them really. None of us have made it, we’re a work in progress and will continue to work really, really hard. His performances have been excellent for a long time now. He presses so hard. His hold-up play is really, really improving, he’s working on that in training and he’s bringing other people into play.”

Adebayo himself agreed with his manager about what it is that has seen him make a huge impact in the top flight this term, saying: “I think that comes down to what makes me a good player in terms of the stuff that are our non-negotiables. Stuff like working hard, pressing, getting yourself in credit, keeping things simple and then the rest of the qualities come out and they show, as then you build off that confidence throughout the game. But when you've got a fantastic team and set of staff who are always going to be giving you as much confidence as possible, then it makes it that little bit simpler.”

The forward also felt that remaining upbeat during his time out of the team also helped him hit the ground running when getting his chance from the start during the 4-3 defeat to Arsenal in December, going on to keep his place for the last nine matches, adding: “Going back to the start of the season and the way the gaffer wanted to play, it wasn’t working the way we wanted it to with the two up front, so obviously tweaking it meant the competition for places is harder, as we were playing with just one upfront.

"It was just about biding my time and having that self confidence that I could break into the team and then a couple of months down the line, get my opportunity against Arsenal and then it’s just about taking that opportunity. Thankfully enough I've kept my foot down, kept my head down and tried to help myself as well as help the team as much as possible, give the team something different that we possibly didn't have in the earlier parts of the season.

“It was about finding the formula and the gaffer’s thought of ways where we can not only have the pressing aspect of the game, but also when we turn the ball over being able to hurt people. I won’t give you all the secrets, it’s obviously working very well and long may it continue. We know each others strengths, me and Carl (Carlton Morris) have played together for long time, we know Chieo’s (Ogbene) strength, so it’s just about making sure we are playing to each others strengths as much as possible.”