31 years old versatile central midfielder, 9 goals, 6 assists in 96 Premier League appearances for Brighton and Huddersfield between 2017-2020. Whoscored lists his strengths as: Crossing, Direct free-kicks, Taking set-pieces, Defensive contribution, Tackling, and that he lacks discipline and aerial ability (175 cm tall). Might make sense to increase central midfield depth? A 4-3-3 with Sara, Hayden and McLean might be a suggested first choice midfield, but we've only got PLM and Sorensen beyond that currently. Maybe Cantwell earmarked as an 8 too, but who knows what happens there.
https://www.scoutreportrb.com/post/scout-report-rb-gabriel-sara-norwich-city More opinions on Sara. Interesting comment about ball retention not being a strength of his, possibly due to a preference for trying to force the play with progressive balls through with a lower success rate. Definitely doesn't sound like a Farke player!
Excellent report, DH. There is much to be excited about in there, but as well as the technical and tactical aspects, it's the never give up determination and commitment he shows whatever the scoreline. Hopefully that will help lift other players during games as he leads by example rather than by shouting. Though not another Buendia, there are some common skills, like the ability to play long through balls, his determination to progress the ball quickly rather than putting possession first and accurate shooting from distance. That he can do all of this from a box to box midfield role is also exciting and having just turned 23, there's likely to be far more to come from him.
Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, spending big money on a Brazilian rough diamond Is certainly exciting but up until a week ago I doubt anyone on here had heard of Sara. I was certain Wolswinkel would become a City legend and score the goals to keep us comfortably mid table , last season I was excited to have acquired one of Europe's top talents in Tzolis . Let's get the medical sorted let him recover from an Injury that has sidelined him since April and slowly integrate him into the first team. I would be amazed if we see what he can do on the pitch before mid September and he will take even longer to get anywhere near match fit.
Summer 2013 Van Wolfswinkel, who has scored 82 goals in 188 appearances for Sporting, FC Utrecht and Vitesse Arnhem during his career, has also been linked with several Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle. "Ricky’s profile is a perfect fit for us – he’s young, ambitious and a proven goal-scorer," Hughton told the club's official website. “He has an excellent goal-scoring pedigree and he’s a young man very keen to continue his personal progression and to play in England. He’s already an exciting talent but he still has more development as a player ahead of him. “I’m delighted we’ve been able to agree a deal with Sporting Lisbon and with Ricky and we look forward to welcoming him to the squad in July, once all of the paperwork gets sorted out.”
Totally agree with your caution, Dunc, as I said on the previous page: "This time last year we thought the new signings would make a massive impact. We hope Smith and Shakespeare know what they're doing, but we won't know until well into the season. Hayden and Sara have to get over their injuries first." RvW and Tzolis were both trying to make an impact in the PL. The difference this time is that is that Hayden is an established player in both the Championship and the PL and his defensive prowess will complement Sara's skills on both sides of the ball as they adjust to their fellow players in the more favourable environment of the Championship. Both will improve our playing out from the back to get the ball to our attacking players more quickly while also screening the defence more effectively. Buendia was very young when he arrived, but he quickly made an impact in the Championship, as did Pukki. This is an advantage of being a yo-yo club, as new players can come in and adjust at a lower level before confronting PL pressure. Sara's willingness to do that sets him apart from others who wouldn't.
Don't get me wrong Rick if we pull this off and sign a young player compared to Yaya Toure in a position we have struggled in since Skipp left . I will be absolutely over the moon , it's a shame he won't be involved pre season and we as fans need to be patient and encourage him as he gets to grips with his new challenge. Agreed that throwing him in at the deep end in the Premier league could be disastrous for his confidence and development. I can't wait to get this deal over the line , he could be a huge player for us . I believe Tzolis Sargent & Rashica could be amazing at Championship level too. Sinani is like a bonus signing also Hayden I'm expecting great things from . Exciting times after last seasons misery. Let's hope we don't suffer from a hangover & smash Farke's record from the last title winning season
Totally agree with all of that Dunc. Andy Head's take on this in MFW: https://norwichcity.myfootballwrite...-quantity-bigger-and-faster-and-a-new-tzolis/
Medical tomorrow announcement Friday http://sportwitness.co.uk/norwich-citys-new-signing-set-complete-move-week-player-ready-travel/
Curious how he gets on there in League Two, feels like he's been fairly under the radar in our academy setup - at least it's the first I've heard of him! Stevenage describe him as a LB in their announcement. Their LB from last season has left and they've brought in Earley and a free transfer from Rochdale*, who will presumably compete for the position. The other player may be more senior, but they've joined the club within a week of each other so neither has established a firm hold on the position yet, which gives him a good opportunity. *Max Clark is the other player, who I know nothing about, but has apparently joined Stevenage having played for Vitesse, Hull, Fleetwood and Rochdale since Jan 2021. That's an impressive number of clubs in a short spce of time. Meanwhile Flynn Clarke at Walsall would appear to have a challenge on his hands. Last season Walsall played 5-3-2 with a single attacking midfielder, who is a young talent Walsall have developed. He's presumably going to have to displace him to get starts, unless the formation changes.
Watching tonight's game I was impressed with the players returning from loan like Cantwell, Sinani, Hugill, Hernandez and McCallum. They're like new players for us this season, having furthered their development out on loan. Cantwell looks to have settled down and is back to his best again.
Dean Smith confirmed Mumba to Plymouth on loan is in the works, that'll be confirmed soon. Mumba surely needs a big season in League One if he's ever going to break through here? Looking at the Plymouth squad: At LB, they have a 22 year old with less than 800 mins in League One, and an injury-prone older LB who hasn't been fit since November, and was playing CB before then anyway. At RB, they also have a senior player who had most of his minutes last season at CB, and a couple of teenagers just promoted from their academy. They played 3-5-2 last season and ended up with a central midfielder and a winger covering the wing-back positions, so clearly problem areas for Plymouth. Hopefully he can impress.
Love the positivity, but I don't see how Cantwell's loan can be billed as furthering his development.
I have no idea what happened with Cantwell but it seemed to all go wrong after rumours came in that Spurs and Liverpool were interested in him . He felt he was/is better than Championship level . He and Buendia both made it clear they wanted to move on and Farke sidelined them for a few games. Emi worked hard and got his big money move Tod didn’t. The England Under 21 coach dropped him due to his poor attitude and subsequent lack of form and Tod appeared to blame everyone but himself. Resulting in a bust up with Farke and sent out on loan to Bournemouth. At Bournemouth he didn't impress enough to get signed as they went up so he's back with us with his tail between his legs . He probably realises that he screwed up and unless he knuckles down and finds some of that early promise he will end up playing for Dereham on £500 week . Slightly reminds me of Chris Martin without the boozing or punch ups . Smith probably saw his bust up with Farke as a toxic distraction last season but as things went so badly for his team , Tod gets a last chance . For me I want him to succeed for Norwich and stay with us for years ,Farke seemed to have a nasty streak with punishing players starting with Oliviera, Leitner , Drmic or another way of looking at it he didn't take any **** from disruptive influences on his squad . Tod is a local lad so it's even worse when he believes his own hype , Aarons should advise him on how to act like a professional .
I agree, Duncan. Without wishing to be my usual miserabilist self, I think we've all learned to be a bit more cautious about new signings. I seem to remember that I posted how Webber's recruitment prior to last season had been as good as it was possible to be, and before that joining in the general feeling that Amadou was going to be the answer to our DM prayers, so I think it's best to wait and just hope things go well.
Hayden has been touted as our defensive midfield saviour and he's suffered a set back from his injury and will miss all of pre season . The Brazilian guy is also injured so there's no instant fix in our weakest position . Seems a bit risky
The news on Hayden is a blow, but it does give Sørensen a run in the DM role and he did well last night, screening the defence and working the ball out from the back. Marseille will be far bigger test though. Cantwell and Tzolis will both provide a test of Smith's man management skills. Christos scored the second goal last night and Todd scored against Regensburg so that should help. Interestingly, Todd seemed to play a deeper role last night and still got forward well as we attacked.
Sorensen played well last night as did young Liam Gibbs - who I believe could be kept as part of the squad in the coming season. Tzolis looked lively and wanted to get on the ball, had a few half chances and took his goal well. Cantwell was a bright spark in the second half, always wanting the ball and rode a few heavy challenges, he and Gibbs seemed to interchange dropping deep to pick the ball up off the defence and getting forward to support the attack well. Sinani played a sort of 8 in the first half which didn't really suit him. Pukki looked a little lethargic at times, but I think he always does in pre-season. Good for Omobamidele to get 45mins into his legs after 7months out.
