Spiller and Richards injury fiasco prevented Hatters signing Oztumer

The 24-year-old was expected to join Luton from Dulwich Hamlet in the summer of 2014 but Hatters withdraw their offer after the midfielder failed a medical.

He was snapped up instead by Peterborough, where he has gone on to make 34 appearances since, scoring five times.

However, but coming off the back of both Spiller and Richards, who joined Luton on two year deals only to never play a first team game, Still admitted it had been seen as too much of a risk as he said: “We actually signed him but he failed a medical, and I think on the back of Danny Spiller and Garry Richards, the club didn’t feel that it was the right thing to take a chance on what was perceived to be that he would definitely need some sort of surgery on and it’s not the easiest surgery.

“But we had agreed, it was all done, only when the medical came back that the club decided not to.

“He’s a good lad, I like him, he’s a good player and we would like to have taken him but I think with the Richards and Spiller situation, probably the club felt that as the right thing to do.

“I understand the club’s point of view, as the general census from support was that they (Spiller and Richards) were non contributors for two years, so the club probably felt it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Still almost signed another of Peterborough’s front men, Conor Washington, when in charge of former club Dagenham & Redbridge, only to have to pull out due to finances.

On Washington, who has scored seven in seven, including a hat-trick in Posh’s 4-0 win at Scunthorpe on Saturday, the Luton boss added: “He had a difficult time there, but they’ve persevered with him when it looked like they would perhaps move him.

“I think he’s all right. We had him down at Dagenham before he went there, before he went to Newport, but we hadn’t sold Dwight (Gayle) and I couldn’t have the resource to take him, but we would have taken a little chance on him.

“They have spent serious money on ones they think would have a chance and he’s just started to pay it back a bit.”