Nathan Jones believes Harry Cornick is on his way to becoming a striker that can play at the top level but is still developing his goalscoring instincts.
The 25-year-old has this season made the permanent switch from winger and impact substitute to become the regular starting partner of top scorer James Collins.
Cornick, however, could have registered more goals that his eight goals in 41 appearances, but he’s missed a series of golden chances, with one during the 1-0 win at Swansea on Saturday, the latest.
At the Liberty Stadium, Jones said of the chance: “He’s got to score. If he wants to get to the top level, which he definitely can, those are the chances he’s got to put away.”
But ahead of the Town’s trip to Leeds United tonight, Jones talked up Cornick’s transition, since signing for Luton in 2017, after being a nomadic loan winger while with boyhood club Bournemouth.
“I wanted him for five years, we wanted to give him a home,” said Jones, adding: “We also said we’re going to work with you in terms of turning him into a front man and he’s well on the way to being a frontman because we signed him in League Two and he adapted to League Two.
“He adapted quickly to League One and he’s adapted to the Championship. We knew what we were getting, he’s still learning, still developing.
“We’ve got him a little bit later in his development so of course you can coach him, composure was all it was.
“When he got in that position (at Swansea) it was, ‘I’m going to hit it as hard as I can,’ whereas, probably, if he just got it on target, it would have gone in.”
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Liverpool’s Premier League-winning Mohamed Salah are two of the English game’s most high-profile wingers-turned-forwards.
Asked if he’d played with or coached any players that had made a similar switch, Jones said: “Not particularly, but in terms of the work, what we see is a profile of what we like, and we saw a lot of those profiles in Harry Cornick.
“So, we then work on the rough edges. I’ve done it with other players before, if you look at Pelly-Ruddock (Mpanzu).
“Pelly came here as a centre half. We had to make him more durable. Then he was a defensive midfield player but then, suddenly, he now becomes this attacking powerhouse.
“So, we’ve done it with a lot of people along the way. I’ve tried to do it.
“Jack Stacey is one that was a right winger at Reading but had all the attributes to be a real attacking full back. We told him that and sold him the dream and he’s proved that.
“Elliot Lee came in as a frontman and has turned into a wonderful number ten. I played him wide on the weekend and he can adapt, so if people have certain attributes, fit the bill and they’re willing to work, keep an open mind and learn, then they can (change) and they’ve done that.”
