Along with assisting the goal, the 19-year-old proved to be a threat throughout in his most complete performance as a Lions player so far
Joe Edwards has expressed his optimism for Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s future following the 19-year-old’s impressive performance against Sunderland.
In Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland, the Arsenal loanee was named man of the match.
He set up Kevin Nisbet’s goal with a fantastic cross and was a threat throughout in his most complete performance in a Millwall shirt to date.
Norton-Cuffy was pushed forward to a more advanced wide position, with Ryan Leonard occupying his usual right-back position. It contributed to his first assist for the club, just weeks after scoring his first goal for Millwall.
Edwards was asked about the teenager’s performance and what he saw of him in training.
He said, “He was really good. When you talk about Brooke’s training, I’ve not seen loads of it. When I came, the international break was a week after I came, and Brooke went away, and then this week with the three games.
“Brooke’s physical output has been massive; he covers a lot out there. The work we’ve been able to do with him on the training pitch has been minimal. I did, actually. When he went with England, I spoke to [England Under-21 assistant coach] Ashley Cole and Adam Lallana [the Brighton midfielder who has been helping out with England’s Under-21s] about what I’d seen in the first week and how they could help him while he was away.
But yeah, definitely an exciting player with a lot of potential.
“What you’re able to do with him is play him as a traditional right-back in a back four, which I think would be his preferred position and what he wants to be in his longer career because he has that natural defensive ability.
“But what he can offer you going forward as well, particularly when you look at the cross for the goal today, he’s got both sides of the game. And I think, like any player, it’s about consistency and how much he can continue to impact games throughout the course of them.”
The Lions head coach was also asked if he’s in constant dialogue with Norton-Cuffy’s parent club, Arsenal.
He said, “Yeah, for sure, I think it’s always important. I’ve been on the other side of that, working at clubs where we’ve loaned players out. It’s important that while Brooke’s here, he feels absolutely like a Millwall player, and he’s immersed in what we’ve been doing, but at the same time, if Arsenal have put years of work and a development plan in place, it’s important that we’re aligned with what we’re speaking about.
Millwall confirmed after the game that Norton-Cuffy cannot be recalled by Arsenal in January after meeting a loan clause to meet the required number of starts for his loan club.
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