In all of my years following Norwich I have never seen such a drastic overhall . New manager new keeper new defence new midfield new forwards. We will need to be patient but I like it. I completely lost interest last season the defence was a shambles & it was pretty much just Sargent & Sainz carrying the team
Not sure whether Sainz got found out or wanted to move on, but 3 goals 2 assists in the second half of the season, plus a lengthy suspension, does not exactly fill me with confidence that he would have replicated his early season form going forwards. When you include his 23/24 stats too, it feels more like the start of last season was the outlier rather than his true level. Unlike Buendia or Maddison, I don't feel like Sainz is leaving destined to perform strongly on the European stage. I think Sainz will top out as a bench/rotation player for Porto. One year left on his deal, that feels like an excellent fee.
Rumour has it that we are interested in Windass from Sheffield Wed. At 31, he doesn’t seem to be the younger type of player which we seem to be looking at. Damp squib?
Versatile forward who could cover multiple roles, and has been good for 10 goals a season in a pretty ropey Wednesday side. Given their current turmoil and the fact they owe us money, perhaps available at a discount. Add to that we still need experienced players who know the league to help our young group, I can see the sense in it.
He’s been angling for a move away from the club for a while now I think. He may even be one of the players who didn’t have their wages so his contract could be forfeit
I'm not anti experienced players, but Knapper has said all along that he wants to lower the average age of the squad and 31 year olds don't do that. Windass is an AM and if Manning is going to play a back three, as has been suggested, there's not likely to be a need for an AM. Even with Sainz leaving, we currently have a 25 man squad and the need seems greater at other positions.