Transfer Rumours Rumours, goss 'n tosh - Jan 2020

Completely agree with you here General!

 

The disadvantage might be the length of time it takes new players to fit into Farkeball. With Srbeny, Heise and Roberts leaving it's likely we'll have 3 new players coming in. A new striker to replace Srbeny would be the most important replacement given the current injuries and Drmić's injury record. It's one SW really needs to get right and the current rumour about the Swedish striker, Isaac Kiese Thelin, doesn't excite me.

 

I know this is dangerous and approaching sacrilege... but I don’t see any interest in Zimmermann being forthcoming.

Let’s face it, he’s given away penalties or got himself tied up in knots and our record has been worse since he’s come back in!

Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a great captain and actually his performances have been better than the stats suggest. But I can’t see anyone being desperate to pay much for him just yet.

 

Yeah I wouldn't disagree. If he generates interest, it'll be the bottom end of the Prem, probably as third choice at best. Easily swatted away, particularly given Zimmerman's connection with both Farke and the fans.

 

Ben Gibson

https://readnorwich.com/2020/01/07/norwich-target-gibson-wants-to-leave-burnley-this-month/

 

Gibson has the definite advantage of being left-footer, as the article points out:

"It should not be underestimated how important it is to have a left-sided centre-back who is naturally left-footed, which Gibson is. Norwich currently have Hanley playing there. Too many times we have seen Hanley try to play a pass across his body out to the left and skew it wildly out of play or straight to an opposition player. Gibson would give Norwich a natural outlet to play the ball out from the back down the left, allowing Daniel Farke’s side to build their play quicker and be more effective going forward."

We've been lacking a left-sided CB ever since Bassong left. Gibson has PL experience and is homegrown but I trust SW and DF to decide if he's right for us. A loan deal with an option to buy might be the best solution at the moment. He can also play at LB, which could provide cover for Lewis without having to bring another player in.

 

He would be a great addition but I’m not sure he would choose us to be honest.

 

That would depend on who else is interested I guess. Gibson is valued at £7.3m on TransferMarkt, which might limit the field a bit. May also limit us, given what DF is saying:

"We work on a few topics but without any pressure. If you asked me then my wish would be to strengthen the squad in many areas but I'm realistic enough and committed enough to know about our financial opportunities, and for that you won't see me crying for more quality. I will work with the tools I have. There's not one position where we are thinking we definitely need a back up or to strengthen in this particular position in the squad."

Surely with departure of Roberts, Heise and Srbeny, we must be looking at some options.

 

You would have thought so wouldn't you? Also there could be a Maddison dividend coming soon. Ultimately, it depends if there is still a plan to proactively get out of trouble this year or start building for next year now. That mindset with determine the market in my opinion.

 

There is supposedly £13m surplus in the transfer budget that we didn’t spend in the summer. It was put aside for Claude-Maurice but when that broke down we got Roberts in on loan instead

 

New rumour linking us to Chelsea's Conor Gallagher on loan:

https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/ncfc-transfer-rumours-chelsea-midfielder-1-6454297

It might have some likelihood given that he plays at DM, but can also play at CM or WR. He also plays for the England U21s alongside Aarons, Godfrey and Cantwell. He's currently on loan to Charlton and has so far scored 6 goals and made 3 assists in the Championship.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/conor-gallagher/profil/spieler/488362

 

And now another Charlton rumour in the form of Lyle Taylor:

https://readnorwich.com/2020/01/08/charlton-open-to-offer-for-norwich-target-taylor/

With 7 goals in 9 starts in the Championship so far he knows English football, is homegrown and might make an immediate impact. At 29 he's older than the usual SW signing but that was Teemu's age when we signed him and Rhodes was older.

 

Not sure about this one. Surely Idah has possibly trumped any interest in this area and certainly fits the SW mentality looking ahead. Cannot see a 29 year old ticking many boxes in the overall scheme of things but fully take on board the Pukki / Rhodes ages. Perhaps we made those signings because there was no young gun available and the ones that we had, we had to sell at that time like the Murphys. We are now better off financially and have a stronger youth base and system.

 

It might have some credence - if Sir Benny is off it does leave us light in options up front - Teemu has a current injury which we hope will be fixed by the time we play The Cherries, Drmic is looking to be the next Matt Jarvis, Morris, the perpetual loanee is off to MK Dons and that just leaves us with Idah who we know is exciting and one helluva prospect but is untried and tested at EPL level. Having another option would not be a bad thing be that Taylor, Rhodes or someone else that Webber may have in mind.

 

I'd be very happy to see Idah given a chance against ManUtd, but it looks like we're going to hold on to Srbeny until either Teemu or another striker is available. I'm not sure that Taylor would greatly improve our survival chances but it could be a reasonable gamble and should we go down, he seems to be an effective striker in the Championship and his being homegrown is another advantage.

 

As for Carlton Morris, his move to MK Don's seems strange given that he's had 28 starts at Rotherham. It seems to be a favour for Russell Martin, who now manages MK Dons. Very hard on Rotherham though.

 

Srbeny is off on a permanent deal:

"SC Paderborn have announced the permanent signing of Norwich City striker Dennis Srbeny for an undisclosed fee."

Presumably we're close to signing a replacement or Pukki will be able to play at Old Trafford. Is it too much to hope that we'll have more than one 18 year old striker available for ManUtd? I like Idah a lot, but it would be asking a lot for him to play the full 90 minutes.

https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/city-striker-srbeny-signs-for-sc-paderborn-1-6456592

 

They've been playing him out of position on the wing though, so perhaps Morris and the club have seen that as detrimental to him and us?

Bah!

 

Throw him in- Man Utd are frail at the moment and this is a striker's dream.

 

Michael Bailey seems to think Pukki will really struggle to be fit for United, and that there might not even be any desire for an incoming striker, never mind one arriving imminently.

Says a lot about the impression that Idah has made if he's effectively forced Srbeny out of the club with a single performance.

Might Carlton Morris' MK Dons move tie in here somewhat as well? Given that new agreement will have been made knowing Srbeny was off, I wonder if the MK Dons deal has a "24 hr recall clause" in it, so if we get truly desperate he can be called upon. I guess we'll find out when the 25 man squad is named at the end of the month, he'd presumably have to be included for that to be viable.