Nathan Jones has revealed he told James Bree a few home truths about his game and has been impressed by the Aston Villa loanee’s response.
The right back has been one of the standout performers since the restart, which is a stark contrast to the early part of the season when he was played regularly out of position.
Jones spent Sunday watching two former Hatters full backs, Jack Stacey and James Justin, face off against each other in Bournemouth’s 4-1 Premier League win over Leicester City.
Asked if 22-year-old Bree could follow in their footsteps, the Welshman said: “Absolutely. I’ve been very impressed with him.
“We spoke to him and we spoke frankly to him. I didn’t think certain elements of his game meant enough to him.
“We spoke to him, we were honest and he bought into that. The boy’s an athlete, he’s got wonderful quality and he reminds me a lot of Jack.
“Different pathways obviously but he reminds me so much. I’ve really been impressed with the kid. I call him a kid, but he’s developing and he’s done fantastically well for me.
“I’m really, really pleased to have him because I really do think there’s a player there. He needs still needs work, which all young players do, but he’s maturing, developing and he’s really taken onboard certain things that we’ve spoken about, so credit to him.
“There’s still a long way to go, (to reach) the levels that he wants to get to but since I’ve been in, I’ve been very, very impressed with him.”
