Town chief admits 'you can't win them all' as Reading defender chooses Greek Super League giants over Luton

Luton boss Rob Edwards was left to rue the fact ‘you can’t win them all’ when losing out in his attempts to sign young Reading defender Nelson Abbey this week.

The 20-year-old had come close to moving to Kenilworth Road after the two clubs reportedly agreed a fee for the England U20 international, who had played 26 times for the Royals this season, captaining his hometown club too. Although it looked like a deal was firmly in the pipeline, that never materialised, with Abbey completing a move to Greek Super League side Olympiacos yesterday for an undisclosed sum.

Asked about missing out on bringing him to Bedfordshire, Edwards said: “There was a little bit in the Nelson Abbey one and we weren’t quite able to get that one over the line. He felt a different challenge was the right thing for him, good luck to him and you can’t win them all, so no more to say on that one.”

Town were able to entice one player from the Madejski Stadium to Luton, with centre half Tom Holmes joining up for next season, immediately returning to help Ruben Selles’ team in their bid to remain in League One this term. Edwards added: “I’m pleased to get Tom in and he goes back and gets his game time at Reading. Hopefully continues to develop there for the rest of the season which is great.”