Town chief expects to see a similar reaction from Man City winger
Hatters boss Jack Wilshere has no doubts that on-loan Manchester City winger Emilio Lawrence will once again provide the same sort of reaction to being dropped from the first team squad that saw him star during his stint at Kenilworth Road last term.
The 20-year-old came in from the Etihad in January, as he earned an immediate start in the 2-1 triumph over Stevenage, before also beginning the games with Swindon Town, Lincoln City and Plymouth Argyle, before when it became clear he was struggling to adapt the rigours of men’s football, having only played for City’s U21s and below, plus Scotland U21s, had a spell out of the side.
When he came back for the 1-1 draw at Port Vale a month later, Lawrence quickly set up Nahki Wells to score, and then went on to be a revelation, part of the side that won the Vertu Trophy, scoring against Stockport County at Wembley, one of his two goals versus the other Hatters, as he also added six assists in total that almost led to Luton reaching the play-offs, missing out by a single point.
Emilio Lawrence on the ball against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup - pic: Andy Fitzsimonsplaceholder image
Emilio Lawrence on the ball against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup - pic: Andy Fitzsimons
With Wilshere, and the majority of Town fans, wanting him to return over the summer, they finally got their wish on the eve of the League One opener at Reading, Lawrence thrown in once more from the start against the Royals. He didn’t look the same player that left Bedfordshire at the Madesjki Stadium though, or during any of the next three games in fact, which saw him taken off at half time in the 5-2 defeat at Mansfield recently, and not even make the match-day squad for the following fixtures with Stockport County and Leyton Orient.
Asked how Lawrence has been since not being included in the side, Wilshere said: “He’s trained well, he’s trained well since he’s got there and that’s why he went straight in. I thought again, putting him straight in and maybe the first two games, I could kind of understand if he was a little bit off the pace because of the pre-season that he had.
"It was back at City, in the loans group, where there’s a lot of players waiting just to go out on loan, so he needed those couple of games, even the four games. Once he comes back, which he will, of course he will, he’ll get his opportunity again and he’ll be better for it, he’ll be stronger mentally and I’ve no doubt that we’ll see the same reaction.”
Although it was expected that Lawrence would be able to hit the ground running after his impact last term, Wilshere did point to his lack of meaningful football while back at his parent club over the summer in being a factor behind his slow start, adding: “Generally at times for my experience of being in an academy, at times if can feel like a different sport. Of course, Emilio’s got quality, of course the players that I’ve worked with all have quality, but there’s something different you need, something you can’t get in 21s football.
"In academy football, it’s very much you play, we play, and that’s not a dig at that, that’s just the way it is. That’s the way development is and since they made the under-21s league, that’s the danger that you create. So it’s really important for young players to get the right amount of time in under-21s football, but when they can get out and experience what it is like fighting for three points, fighting for every second ball because it’s different.”