Luton boss Matt Bloomfield has underlined his commitment to developing Lasse Nordås but says the young Norwegian forward is still adapting to the demands of English football.
The 23-year-old, who joined from FK Bodø/Glimt in January, was not in the squad for Friday’s League One opening win against AFC Wimbledon, which saw Jerry Yates unveiled as their new number nine just before kick-off.
Nordås, though, has shown flashes of goalscoring promise in pre-season and today he featured and scored for the under-21s.
But Bloomfield explained that the decision to omit him from Friday’s victory against the Dons was tactical rather than a reflection of the striker’s attitude or effort.
“Yeah, his future is that he’s working hard. He’s training hard,” Bloomfield said. “We’re trying to improve the parts of his game that we feel he needs to improve in. Obviously, he got himself a goal today, which is great for him – he’s got a few in pre-season.”
The manager added that Nordås is being challenged to adapt to the tempo and physicality of English football, and his development is being closely supported both on and off the pitch.
“We just felt like the right changes we needed the other night and the way the game was going to go didn’t necessarily feature him for that game,” Bloomfield explained. “So the decision was made. As it goes, we did bring on the dribblers – we brought on more pace with Zack [Nelson] and with Lamine [Fanne].”
Nordås’ profile as a tall, technical centre forward offers something different to Luton’s other attacking options, but Bloomfield admitted the adjustment to English football can take time.
“You never know how quickly someone’s going to adapt until you see the evidence,” he said. “It’s a different level of intensity, I would suggest, in our leagues. At times he’s shown some really bright spots and other times we feel there’s still a lot more development to come.”
Despite being in the early stages of his Luton career, Bloomfield believes Nordås has the right character and mentality to progress if given time.
“We’re working really hard with him – we’ve done individual meetings, working out on the training ground. He’s a very willing boy and he’s got a real good goal threat,” he said. “We just need to give him time and be patient with him. He’s not the finished article. He’s not the final product.”
While the manager admitted patience is not his strong suit, he stressed the importance of giving Nordås the support and minutes he needs to grow.
“He’s a young player who’s developing and working hard to do so. We absolutely will keep working with him. The way he conducts himself, the way he goes about his work – he’s really respectful and there’s not a criticism at all with that.”
