It’s difficult to know exactly what we need. It’s not a centre back. Maybe a left back. A long term replacement to McClean as a deeper lying midfielder perhaps. Interesting to see that Sara has quickly settled at Galatasaray
Duffy is now 33 and a bit of a loose cannon on and off the field. Hanley, also 33, no longer is in the frame, out of contract at the end of the season and will possibly go in the forthcoming transfer window. We don't need a centre back?
I'd say the most obvious need is a Rowe replacement on the right of the forward three, the role Crnac is currently being asked to fill. Apart from that, the rumour about Selvik seems plausible; I can certainly see Gunn leaving and a keeper better suited to Hoffball coming in. Whatever business we do in the window, though, will depend primarily on who on our target list is actually available, largely irrespective of current need.
If Selvik does sign, then it would make more sense to me that we let Long go and leave Angus and Egil compete for the shirt. We should have competition for every position and we don't have that at GK now.
Trouble is that we are stuck with Long on a 3 year contract and there would be nobody else at our level who would want him. He won't move for less money.
Is Angus willing to accept less money in return for a new contract? Why would the club pay above the odds to keep him, if a more suitable alternative is available at lower cost?
On the subject of keepers, I happened to be looking yesterday at FBref's Advanced Goalkeeping stats, which include a metric for post shot expected goals minus goals allowed. "Post shot xG" (PSxG) is a measure of how likely it is that a given shot is saved by the keeper; "Goals allowed" (GA) is simply the number of shots a particular keeper fails to save. Subtracting GA from a given keeper's cumulative PSxG produces a positive, negative or null value, depending on whether the keeper saves more, fewer, or the precise number of shots, expected. As of today, neither Angus nor George are in positive territory, but George (-1.7) has performed rather better than Angus (-5.3) on this measure. Indeed Angus sits rather uncomfortably in 38th place out of the 39 Championship keepers listed (George being in 30th place). Put another way, Angus has allowed 33% more goals than expected, while George has allowed 16% more than expected. The keeper with the highest positive score, i.e who has allowed fewer expected goals than any other in the Championship, is currently Stoke's Victor Johansson, who has conceded just 70% of the goals he might be expected to concede. Stoke are currently 19th in the table, just 4 points above the relegation zone. Looks as if Victor is singlehandedly (!) keeping their heads above water.
Apparently City have been watching Slavia Prague winger Matej Jurasek, who is expected to be avaiable in the up and coming transfer window.
The current situation according to the Pinkun: "A number of options are under consideration as Ben Knapper looks to strengthen the squad, but signings will only be made if they align with the long term strategy at the club. City were linked with soon to be out of contract Norwegian international Egil Selvik, but, whilst he’s been under consideration, it’s thought City would prefer a younger and homegrown option to push first-choice Angus Gunn in the second half of the campaign should they opt to make a move for a goalkeeper. No talks have taken place with the Scotland international, who is free to talk to overseas clubs in the New Year. It’s understood he has a host of interested parties monitoring his situation at Carrow Road. Hungarian midfielder Mark Kosznovszky is also thought not to be a target at this stage after links with City emerged last week." https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...terest-slavia-winger-matej-jurasek---reports/
A possible replacement if Hanley leaves: https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/reading-fc-norwich-city-join-tyler-bindon-race/
So, we are in for a 19 year old defender. Where does that leave Hills, Warner, Tompkinson, Adeboyega and others in our pipeline?
The Jurasek rumour looks to be hitting up, according to the Pinkun: "Norwich City are stepping up their pursuit of Slavia Prague winger Matej Jurasek. The Canaries have identified the 21-year-old right winger as a key January window signing, with talks underway with Czechia leaders Slavia, and Jurasek’s representatives. City officials are trying to strike an outline agreement for the €6m-rated prospect, to allow Jurasek’s camp to travel to England for a Colney fact-finding mission. Discussions continued prior to the club’s 1-1 Championship comeback against QPR on Sunday, with the highly-rated attacker believed to be open to a potential Carrow Road move. Czechia media reported the initial link over Christmas, with City sending scouts to watch Jurasek in a Europa League clash against Anderlecht earlier this month. The left-footer, who plays on the right, is under contract until 2027 after he joined Slavia from Carvina as a youngster, making his senior debut for the club in November 2020."
But that still leaves the others with less wiggle room in our pecking order. I think Tompkinson may be leaving soon though, along with Springett. Neither week to have a future with us.
I think Hills is now considered to be a first team player and Warner is on the fringe. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Adegboyega, who is now 21, makes a breakthrough next summer when he returns from Dundee Utd. I'm less sure where Tomkinson stands in the order.
