Luton Town must stand firm as Crystal Palace and Fulham circle: View | OneFootball

Luton Town are preparing for life back in the Championship after an impressive fight to remain in the Premier League.

The Hatters were expected to come straight back down, but it wasn’t a forgone conclusion as many expected, as Rob Edwards’ side put up more than a fight to stay in the top division.

However, it wasn’t meant to be, and they now return to the second tier, likely one of the favourites to go back up.

Luton were smart in the business they did in terms of recruitment, as they still signed a lot of top-end Championship players, meaning there may not be a mass exodus this summer.

But there are still a few of their first-team players attracting interest, with defender Teden Mengi one of the names that has been mentioned in regards to interest from the Premier League.

Crystal Palace and Fulham target Teden Mengi

According to the Daily Mirror, Premier League duo Crystal Palace and Fulham are interested in signing Luton Town defender Teden Mengi.

The Hatters could have competition on their hands, as it was reported by the Daily Mirror in February that Mengi has also been watched by Bayer Leverkusen’s Head of UK and Emerging Talents Matthew Green this season.

The 22-year-old only joined the club last summer from Manchester United, and it is believed the Premier League giants do have a sell-on clause, meaning they will receive a percentage of any fee should he leave the club.

When it was announced that Mengi had joined Luton, the length of his contract wasn’t revealed, but given how he has been there for only a season, the Hatters need to stand firm and not sell one of their best defenders this summer.

Luton Town must stand firm and not sell Teden Mengi

It looks like as Luton Town head into the summer transfer window, they have two or three players attracting interest from the Premier League.

Of course, Rob Edwards will be keen to ensure his side remains more or less the same, as he eyes a second promotion at the club.

Teden Mengi is a player who has attracted interest from the top flight, as stated above, and while he could potentially be moved on, the Hatters need to stand their ground and make sure they can do everything in their power to keep hold of the defender for the new season.

The 22-year-old was a regular in the Luton team in the 2023/24 campaign, as he featured in 30 of the club’s 38 league games, 28 of which he started, and he averaged 82 minutes on the pitch.

In those games, Mengi grabbed a single goal as he finished the season with a goal conversion rate of 9&, which is not bad given that isn’t a natural part of his game.

It was in defence that Mengi shined, as he averaged 1.9 interceptions per game, as well as 1.8 tackles, and he recovered the ball 4.2 times, as per Sofascore.com.

The Luton defender was definitely one of the better and more consistent performers throughout the campaign for the club, so it may not be a surprise that teams from the Premier League are looking to snap him up after the Hatters’ relegation.

Obviously, Luton will potentially have a figure in mind, and if that is met, then they will probably let Mengi leave the club.

However, if the club is serious about another promotion push, Luton needs to stand firm this summer and make it clear that he isn’t someone they are interested in selling.

The defender did ever so well in his first season at the club, and you would expect him to do even better, dropping into the Championship. Luton will not be in a position where they must sell this summer, so they can afford to retain players like Mengi, and that is what they should do, especially when you consider they are getting £5 million for selling Ross Barkley.

As previously stated, if Luton receive an unbelievable offer, then they will probably let the player leave, but Luton need to make it as difficult as possible and get it to a point where if the player is going to leave, then it is for a lot more money than either Crystal Palace or Fulham wanted to pay.

The player himself could potentially do with staying at Luton for another season, as this is his first permanent switch away from Manchester United, and for him to change clubs a year later may not be best for him at this stage.

His game may develop more staying with the Hatters, as he will be guaranteed to play most of the time, and that might not be there if he joins one of these Premier League teams.