Can't disagree with any of that. I really think if Hooper could get and stay fit, he'd be knocking in 15+ this season, but the swap deal for Van Dijk might be too good to miss particularly if we've got another striker lined up anyway
If not van Dijk, Efe Ambrose has been touted with a move to the Premier League for a couple of windows now, and I'd be tempted by him too.
I really wouldn't be getting too excited about any deal that would bring DVD to Carrow Road, I just honestly do not see it happening and as I'm certain you're aware there is far more to a transfer than us saying to Celtic "you want our player, we fancy one of yours, shall we do a swap?". There is the small matter of what the player himself wants to do, and if DVD doesn't want to swap a guaranteed title winners medal with some Champions League football thrown in for a relegation battle with us, and would rather join a club like Southampton who finished top seven last season, can offer European football and, dare I say, pay higher wages than we do then who could blame him? I'd love us to sign him, think he would be absolutely perfect but I wouldn't give us any more than 10% chance of making him our player and I'd be amazed if we ever get any further than making some initial enquiries.
Might not be as simple as that Rob. If we get another striker that would leave us with 6 strikers plus Loza. It could be argued that only playing one up front we only need 3 plus Loza but 4 at the very most meaning that 2 or 3 have to go. If somebody wants Hooper and nobody wants RvW and Lafferty then the decision is made for the Club.
I agree I was more stating the circumstances I'd be willing to loose Hooper not that I think is likely that we'd pull of a swap deal.
I've been wondering if this might be the club's logic too. We need to offload strikers, and we've plenty on the fringe of the first team. If a new striker is going to push Hooper down to 4th, we may as well cash in and rely on our 5th or 6th choice strikers (as it stands) if injuries get that bad.
Just to throw this in the mix, although it seems Sunderland are now being rumoured with DVD @footballitalia report that #SaintsFC and Napoli are in advanced talks for Kalidou Koulibaly. The fee would be in the region of €12m(£8.5m).
MK Dons supposedly want Toffolo on loan for the season. I think that'd be quite wise for all parties. Toffolo is going to have limited opportunities here, and playing regularly in the championship will be a step up on last season, and help him develop. I wouldn't want him to hang around Colney in the hope of cup appearances, we appear to have stalled the Murphy's development by doing that.
Yeah, I agree, but the part I missed is that I pretty much expect RvW to be going out on loan somewhere again. Lafferty's injury was badly timed, but he might too
I wouldn't like to see Hooper leave, He is our second best striker, even if we bring one in, he'll still be top 3. I really can't see DVD moving to us, there are too many good teams after him. Southampton or Everton look likely. I could also see a team like spurs becoming interested. I think Southampton looks a good fit for him. If we can ship Turner to Sheffield United for any kind of fee, that could be good business.
Totally agree It's irrelevant how much we want DVD, or what steps we would have to do within our squad to free up space and cash to sign him if he has no interest in signing for us - which is what I would suspect given some of these other clubs looking at him. The only way we could realistically entice him over Saints, Spurs etc would be with a ridiculous financial package, and that's not our style and anyway we would never be able to seriously compete with those others clubs in terms of finance anyway.
That's how I feel. We wont be breaking our financial ethics to bring him in, we have been so positive with our financial control. Don't think we should lose that. Would definitely add additional pressure to this season. We don't want to go down, but we don't want it that if we did go down, we'd have to sell all our stars.
odjijia, wisdom, toffolo and van wolfswinky playing for the u21s this afternoon, hopefully they'll do well
Fortunately/unfortunately AN doesn't seem to agree with your assessment. Grabban replaces Jerome when he is unfit or comes off during the game leaving Hooper 4th choice if we buy another striker. This would make it likely that he will go if anybody wants him especially as there appears little interest from other Clubs wanting to take RvW or Lafferty off our hands.
All I can think is that Grabban must play like Aguero on the training pitch! He's obviously determined to get something out of him. I'm sure if anyone can AN can, just hope there's something in there to get out.
I think Grabban and Hooper offer different things and are hard to compare. Grabban pace makes him the better substitute. Hooper I think could work really well in our current set up with wes, howson and Redmond all close for support. He just needs to get a bit fitter by the looks if it. I hope he puts his head down and grabs his chance when he gets a shot.
I'd suggest Hooper is the better Footballer and Grabban is the better Athlete. Currently we are playing a system that requires a good athlete. I agree with others that I think Hooper could work well in this set up, he does need to be fitter though. I've seen enough to know he has the quality.
Good performance all around, with RvW, Odjidja-Ofoe, Wisdom and Kean all looking good. Full story here: http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/...development_win_over_leicester_city_1_4197838
We've got real creativity in midfield, and a pacy striker helps create space for them as defences can't play a high line and squeeze the midfield. So it works well with Jerome or Grabban up top, but even at his fittest Hooper was never blessed with blistering pace. On top of that, Grabban runs the channels well, and Jerome also bullies centre backs. Hooper is weaker in both of those areas. In his favour, few would dispute that Hooper is the most natural finisher, and he can drop deep and be creative in the middle of the park. In the past I've been impressed with how he links up with Wes and Redmond. But, with Wes, Dorrans and Howson all creative in the centre of the pitch, Hooper is surplus to requirements in the build-up phase. This'll sound bizarre, but potentially the key to whether RvW or Hooper can work in our system might be Redmond. If he continues to develop this season into a player that really terrifies defences, you might find defences are scared deeper to combat him, even if the lone striker doesn't have quite the same pace. If that can create the space in midfield we currently find with Jerome/Grabban up top, then RvW with his excellent off the ball movement, or Hooper's finishing, might bring them back into contention.
