Luton boss insists January signing Nordas will be given time to adapt
Forward not named in the squad for League One opener
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield insists he will remain patient with striker Lasse Nordas and give him the time he needs to develop into the finished article for the Hatters.
The 23-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road from Eliteserien side Tromso in January and had a limited role to play in the final five months of the season, featuring just 10 times, also failing to find the net. He has found the net during pre-season though, scoring twice in the 8-1 win over NK Trivlag Kranj, also on target as Luton beat Southend United 2-0 as well. Nordas was celebrating once more this afternoon, netting a smart finish, as the Hatters U21s triumphed 2-1 against Leyton Orient at the Brache, young winger Josh Phillips on the scoresheet too.
However, Nordas now faces a huge battle to earn a place in the side, with Town bolstering their attacking options during the summer window, shelling out an undisclosed fee to bring in proven League One goalscorer Jerry Yates from Swansea City, along with the experienced Nahki Wells, while they also have Cauley Woodrow available, with Jacob Brown getting closer to a return as well following a serious injury. Asked about the forward’s chances of breaking in, Bloomfield said: “We just need to give him time, be patient with him.
"He’s not the finished article, he’s not the final product, he’s a young player who’s developing and working hard to do so. I’m not good at patience, that’s not one of my strong points, but we have to show patience at the right time and developing players, developing young players, at times we need to show that patience. So we absolutely will and we’ll keep working. The way he conducts himself, the way he goes about his work, he’s really respectful and there’s not a criticism at all in that.”
Despite Nordas’s form in pre-season, he wasn’t included in the match-day squad as Town kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 success over AFC Wimbledon on Friday night. Asked why that was and what lies ahead for the former Norway U21 international, Bloomfield continued: “His future is that he’s working hard, he’s training hard. We’re trying to improve the parts of his game that we feel he needs to improve in.
"Obviously he’s gone and got himself a goal today which is great for him. He’s got a few in pre-season but 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, so that’s why that decision was made. As it goes, we did bring on the dribblers, we brought on more pace with Zack (Nelson) and with Lamine (Fanne). Cauley came on and although he didn’t score the goal, he had a major part to play with his link up with Nahki, so it will be decided on a game by game basis.”
With Nordas having never played English football before being thrust into a Championship relegation battle last term, featuring for Strømmen and Bodø/Glimt in his home country, questioned as to how he has found the switch, Bloomfield added: “You never know how quickly someone’s going to adapt until you see the evidence.
"It's a different level of intensity I would suggest in our league and at times he’s shown some really bright spots and at other times we feel there’s still a lot more development to come. So 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, so he’s someone we’ll continue to keep working with.”