Jack Wilshere says Callum Marshall’s relentless work on his finishing can make the young striker a crucial player for Luton Town this season.
The 21-year-old maintained his 100 per cent scoring record at Kenilworth Road last night as he bagged a stunner in Town’s 2-0 victory over Stockport County, having opened his account for the club against Notts County last month, also in sublime fashion.
After the weekend’s 5-2 drubbing at Mansfield, where he was one of the better performers, he was replaced by veteran Nahki Wells, who also scored against County to take his earlier term tally to five in six games. But after coming off the bench, the youngster lit up the match with a 27-yard top corner belter to seal victory.
Wilshere believes the Northern Ireland international possesses the natural instincts required of a number nine, and that’s because he spends extra time after training to practice his finishing, even against advice.
“He’s a nightmare — a nightmare for the sports scientists,” said the Hatters boss. “The sports scientists are on me, saying, ‘get him in’. And I’m saying, ‘come on, Cal, we got to go’.’ He says, ‘no, ten more, ten more [minutes].’ And it’s every single day.
“And he’s an example to young players who need to work on their craft — especially number nines — because that’s the hardest thing to do in football: put the ball in the back of the net from different situations, from different positions.
“Practice, practice, practice. He’s one of the cleanest strikers of the ball I’ve ever seen. And there’ll probably be a few more of them [goals].”
Marshall joined Luton from West Ham United this summer and Wilshere has already spoken about his desire to improve the striker’s all-round game. But the manager believes the most important quality for a forward is something that cannot necessarily be taught.
“He knew it [was in]. He was off celebrating,” Wilshere said of the strike, adding: “Genuinely, he practices all the time. So there’s no surprise — he’s in that situation 20 times after training, doing one-v-ones and finishing with his right foot.”
Wilshere has previously described Marshall as a typical number nine and says his willingness to repeatedly work on his finishing could ultimately prove decisive.
“Goals help a player’s confidence, but definitely a number nine — goals are everything,” he said.
“[It’s an] Incredible goal. He’s one of the best finishers I seen and I’ve seen a lot of good finishers. He’s come in with the hunger, a real desire to improve,” Wells told LTFC + of Marshall.
“Me and him have got a really good relationship. I have to drive him in [to training] every morning, so we got quite close, quite quickly.
“And he said ‘the gaffer’s got a big problem now. He’s gonna have to pay both. I said, ‘I’m not sure he’s going to do that, but it’s a really good headache for the manager.
“We need each other to be successful. We need the competitive nature. He’ll push me, I’ll push him and, ultimately, the team will benefit from that.
“So I was delighted when he got the goal. And I’d like to think he would’ve been the same when I got my goal and that’s what it’s all about. If we can keep doing what we’re doing it’s a recipe for success.”
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