Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi has told Nottinghamshire Live that Lewis Grabban should look towards Barcelona superstar Luis Suarez as his inspiration.
The French boss has worked with some tremendous strikers both as a player and as a manager and aims to get the very best out of the Forest man.
Grabban has scored five goals this season but he believes he can score even more if he adopts the same style as Suarez or Lamouchi’s former team-mate David Trezeguet.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “He’s working hard for the team, but he deserves more. I am so satisfied with his attitude off the pitch, in the dressing room and on the pitch, and the way he is working for the team.
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“Sometimes I ask him to be more of a killer inside the box, to finish some of the action. He is working hard but sometimes he is too polite.
“For me, a good example is Suarez – from when he started until now, he was like this (ruthless in front of goal) from the beginning. Inside the penalty area, he is a different player.
“In my time, a long time ago, I played with a fantastic player in David Trezeguet. Outside the penalty area, he never played more than one or two touches. Inside the area though, one-touch was enough; one chance, one goal.”
Grabban cost Forest £6 million from Bournemouth in the summer of 2018 and has been a pretty decent signing for Forest.
Star quality
In 54 games he has scored 22 goals for the Reds and is very much established as one of the best strikers in the Championship given his record during his career.
Lamouchi is perhaps right to demand that Grabban is more selfish in the penalty area as he does occasionally prefer to do more for the team instead.
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There was evidence of this against Hull when he took a touch too many and was forced to lay the ball off, rather than going for glory himself.
Suarez, signed from Liverpool for £75 million (BBC Sport) is a decent example for Grabban to look towards. Someone who comes alive in the penalty box is exactly what the Forest man is and if can show just a fraction of the Uruguayan’s prowess it can only benefit his game in turn, Forest.