Luton hope to seal shock transfer for South American wonderkid… but could see move scuppered by shock contract clause

LUTON hope to clinch a deal for Oscar Zambrano — but the teenage midfielder may have to give up his slice of the transfer.

Ecuadorian Zambrano, 19, is due 15 per cent of the potential £5.5million fee but his club LDU Quito would like him to waive that.

GettyEcuadorian wonderkid Oscar Zambrano is on Luton’s radar[/caption]

An alternative would be for Luton to pay Zambrano the cash but that only increases the club’s overall outlay.

Ironically, Hatters’ chances of landing Zambrano were boosted after he was an unused sub in LDU’s Copa Sudamericana final win over Brazilian side Fortaleza last week — and a handful of clubs turned up hoping to watch him.

Zambrano is a defensive midfielder in the mould of Moises Caicedo, who was picked up in Ecuador by Brighton and sold to Chelsea for a Premier League record £115m.

In fact, Zambrano came through the same football academy as Caicedo and has been keen to come to Europe since a trial at Ajax a couple of years ago.

Luton take on Liverpool this afternoon looking to claim a famous scalp at Kenilworth Road.

Rob Edwards’ side go into the game in 18th with five points from ten games.

Even a draw, however, would see them clamber above Bournemouth and above the drop zone.

Luton have a number of injury issues, with Edwards claiming his side are “down to the bare bones”.

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But he absolutely does not believe today’s game is a “free hit”.

Asked ahead of the match, he said: “Absolutely not.

“The game is another opportunity for us to win a game of football so I don’t see it like that.

“Liverpool are a massive club doing really well in the league but there is a chance, like there is in every game, if we do things right.

“We do those things right, if they have an off day, there is a chance, so I don’t see this game like that.”