A "Transfer Exclusive"

With the summer transfer-window well underway. Oliver Middleton takes a look at the "ghosts" of Norwich City's transfer past in light of some interesting links to the clubs prized assets.

The sun finally sets on yet another Norwich City season. It’s been a year of unpredictability. Who could have seen this Norwich side triumphing over such Premier League titans as Manchester City, Tottenham, or Everton? Who could have foreseen such a relentless whimper towards the finish line? There was also the not so small matter of a global pandemic that interrupted football across the planet for three long months. A year of unpredictability means that surely we can find satisfaction in the one thing that will never change - The abysmal aftermath that is, the summer transfer window…

Excuse the cliché, but silly season is here, a term I truly adore. It not only speaks of the senseless and mindboggling idiocy it presents us with, but it brings out the part of us that secretly appreciates the ridiculous. For Norwich City, this summer’s transfer business must be anything but silly. After a season that defied belief in 2018/19, the Canaries endured their worst Premier League season on record, amassing just 21 points out of a “possible” 114. Blame has been shifted from player, to manager, to owner, and beyond. But as Stuart Webber so aptly put, Norwich City “went to war with no gun.”

Sam Byram’s £750,000 move from West Ham represented Norwich’s biggest transfer outlay of the summer, as Webber and co decided against gambling on the club’s delicate financial future. However, who would have accepted this when rumours of a record breaking £10m move for French winger, Alexis Claude-Maurice, circulated in the dying days of the 2019 summer transfer window? Despite the consistent cries of the Carrow Road elite suggesting there wouldn’t be any major moves, Norwich City fans licked their lips at the potential of a transfer window splash and dash. Of course, the move never materialized, but was this outcome every really in the pipeline?

The Stuart Webber revolution has seen Norwich City’s transfer business evolve. Gone are the days of 30-year-old Bosman transfers or a hefty spend on a quick fix to a disposable system. Despite never really knowing who Norwich’s latest addition is, you know exactly what to expect when the Norwich City admin teases us with a short blurry clip of a male holding a yellow and green shirt. Young, low risk, unknown, and the potential for a high sell-on fee. This is what makes the endless transfer merry-go-round such a sight to behold. Never fear, I’m getting to my point…

Let’s first take a stroll down memory lane and stop off with everyone’s favourite Norwich City - Hamilton Accies connection… Alex Neil (sorry Tony Andreu). The year is 2016, Norwich City have been promoted to the Premier League and with fears of another relegation scrap quickly becoming a reality, those waving their yellow and green flags know exactly what they need: a Premier League quality striker. Cameron Jerome had been a delight in his first City season, scoring 18 goals across 41 Championship appearances. However, his Premier League record wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. Alex Neil and Norwich City made it perfectly clear that striking reinforcements were needed. Amazingly, at this precise moment the ears of footballing agents and reporters across the country pricked up. The onslaught had arrived, and Norwich City were to be linked with every striker under the sun.

An £11m move for Sampdoria’s Eder was rumoured to be high on Norwich City’s wish-list. However, the Italian international remained, and eventually made the tricky decision to move to Inter Milan and the San Siro over of the-state-of-the art portacabins of Colney. West Hams £45m striker Sebastian Haller was also heavily linked with a move to Carrow Road, when still a Utrecht player in 2016. The striker reportedly even visited Norwich City’s training complex, much to an oblivious Alex Neil’s surprise. By this point even Chelsea outcast, and former Newcastle sensation, Loic Remy was reportedly close to securing a loan move to Carrow Road. With such a high calibre of names being linked, Norwich were sure to bag themselves a new number nine to drag them away from the Premiers Leagues trap door. Incredibly, no new striker arrived and Norwich City spent their money elsewhere, a £7m move for attacking midfielder Steven Naismith and some kid from York City called Ben Godfrey. Naismith scored a tantalising 1 goal in 13 games and joined his teammates with a swift return to the championship.

2016 was no anomaly though. Norwich City’s rumour mill is an ever-present source of hopeful transfer stabs, whether it’s Toby Alderweireld or Kalidou Koulibaly being “reportedly set to sign”; Marouane Chamakh, Niklas Bendtner or Juan Fernando Quintero in “extensive talks”; or “a huge offer tabled” for Britt Assombalonga, Andrea Ranocchia, Dwight Gayle, Bennik Afobe, Mattia Destro or Ross McCormack… well, you get the idea. The fact is, a “Done Deal” is almost never exactly that. This is usually conceived as nothing more than a club or agent trying to secure a move, a newspaper stirring the pot, or simply Billy No Mates sat at home adding two and two together from his “ground-breaking” transfer twitter account. The fact is, no matter how exclusive the report may seem, nothing is really done, until it’s done.

That’s why with links circulating around the future of Norwich City’s highly rated young assets, it may be time to take a step back. Regardless of the truth behind it, the Canaries should take pride in the fact that their young stars are being linked with some of Europe’s elite. Aarons to Bayern Munich, Godfrey to Milan, Cantwell to United, Buendia to Athletico and Lewis to Liverpool. All incredible potential moves that validate Stuart Webber’s Norwich City renaissance. But these potential moves are exactly that - potential. These rumours could be true, false, or anywhere inbetween. But the fact is, as of right now, all five currently have their flip-flop wearing feet firmly dipped in swimming pools and remain Norwich City players.

If you are frustrated or angered about their possible departures, you have unfortunately not fully understood Norwich City’s structure: a self-sustaining creator, developer and seller of young talent for an astronomical profit. The likelihood is that these players will all move on at some stage, and if they do, they leave as a huge success and pave the way for the next line of talent to come through. But as already stated, a deal isn’t done until it’s done. Simply looking back on Norwich City’s previous transfer forays illustrate that you can never become too carried away with a transfer exclusive.

With Lewis’s move to Merseyside falling through, and Liverpool turning their attention elsewhere, it reiterates the fact that despite the flurry of news reports, not every exclusive is the be all and end all. For all intents and purposes, all 5 could grace Carrow Road with their presence next season, helping the Canaries attempt to battle their way back to the promised land. Silly season may be upon us once again, but let’s just be thankful that we now find ourselves in sensible hands. No matter how exclusive it may seem, as the Canaries so commonly sing, ignore the noise, simply wait and see.

Photo credits - AFC Bournemouth Twitter, Goaloffside