Luton Town have made a third bid for Wycombe Wanderers striker, Richard Kone.

Kone joined Wycombe last January from Athletic Newham, having impressed on trial for the Buckinghamshire outfit. Now, the Ivorian has established himself as an elite striker at League One level, scoring 16 league goals in 28 appearances thus far.

This form has seen plenty of attention on the forward, particularly from Bedfordshire, where his former manager Matt Bloomfield now reins. Luton has already had two bids for Kone rejected, with the interim boss, Sam Grace, making it clear that the attacker was committed to his current club. Since then, a third bid has been lodged, reported to be in the region of £6m, which was exclusively revealed by Football League World.

This has certainly left Wycombe between a rock and a hard place, as £6m is a lot of money for someone who was playing in non-league 12 months ago. However, the Blues looked poor without their star striker before his introduction against Northampton Town on Saturday, proving he’s a key component in this Wanderers side’s success.

Wycombe given a tough ultimatum after latest Luton Town bid

Just two years ago, the Chairboys lost one of their most exciting players with just days remaining in the transfer window. Anis Mehmeti joined Bristol City in a deal that was reportedly worth £1m, which seems like pocket change considering the figures being thrown at Wycombe for Kone.

Now, Wanderers supporters are being faced with that possibility again, as Luton have tabled a mouth-watering £6m to try and reunite Kone and Bloomfield. From the outside looking in, most may think that Wycombe would jump at that kind of fee, but with promotion on the line, it leaves a tough dilemma for the club’s hierarchy.

The £6m could go a long way for the Blues, despite the wealth of the owner, Mikheil Lomtadze. With a week left in the transfer window, the money could be reinvested in strengthening the playing squad even further, which would soften the blow.

However, it’s not just as simple as that. Losing a key component and an attacking outlet mid-season could have disastrous implications for Wycombe’s promotion push. There’s no guarantee that anyone the Chairboys would bring in to replace the 21-year-old would have the same impact that Kone did, which makes this situation very risky.

Ultimately, Dan Rice, who is in charge of transfers at the club, must decide whether he’d like the £6m now, or retain his star player and make more money if Wycombe gains promotion to the Championship.

Kone may be worth a lot more than £6m to Wycombe

This saga has become much more interesting since last weekend, as Luton have shown their desperation to strengthen after another poor result against Millwall.

This will also hurt Wycombe fans, with their once beloved manager coming back to try and steal their prized asset. Whilst his 21 years of service will never be overlooked, some supporters have voiced their disappointment and loss of respect for Bloomfield, as his predecessor, Gareth Ainsworth, didn’t return to Wycombe to sign players when he left for QPR.

Regardless of this, the 40-year-old is keen to get his man, as the astonishing bid has exceeded what Wanderers may have expected the Hatters to offer. The consensus on social media was that this was a massive overpay from Luton, which simply isn’t the case.

Plenty of factors will have driven the price of Kone. Firstly, nobody wants to lose key players in January. It has the potential to completely derail a team’s season. Of course, the Ivorian’s contributions will also be part of this price tag, but the potential value of promotion to the Championship will also drive the value of Kone up. All of these factors must be considered before conclusions are made that Luton is paying over the odds for the youngster.

Kone won’t spend his entire career at Adams Park. If his current form continues, he’s destined for great things. But the forward could be worth a lot more than just £6m in six months. Should Wycombe gain promotion to the Championship and Kone’s excellent goalscoring form continue, then the Buckinghamshire side could be looking at a big payday for promotion, and Kone could be worth a lot more than he is currently.

Importantly, Kone started for the Chairboys in their fixture against Barnsley on Tuesday night, 24 hours after the news of Luton’s latest bid emerged. The Ivorian scored a brace, including a 95th-minute winner, as the promotion-chasing side defeated the Tykes. After the game, Grace once again reaffirmed Kone’s loyalty to his current club, saying: “I said it last week, and I’ll say it again, Richard wants to get promoted with Wycombe.

“I don’t think anyone can have any doubts about his commitment as he is all in.”

This certainly eased the minds of Wycombe supporters, but there will be some worry present until the window slams shut on Monday.

£6m Luton Town bid for Wycombe Wanderers ace leaves Chairboys between a rock and a hard place