Transfer Rumours Arrivals / Departures lounges, Summer 2023.

Tzolis coming back to Norwich it seems... #ncfc
Google translation:-

 

I hope this is just a case of the connotations of the word being wrongly translated and just means 'loanee, someone who is only temporarily being paid by us' rather than money-grabber. Anyone know enough Dutch?

 

Seems that “Huurling” is like hireling. So a bit more like describing him as a “hired gun” I guess

 

Happy about this, we needed another wide option but it seemed a bit silly to buy one this window considering we have Tzolis, Springett and Rashica away on loan, Rowe and Placheta working their way back through injury and Hernandez and Sinani.

Really hope Wagner can develop Tzolis, he should have stayed here this season in my opinion

 

The full Pinkun article here:

https://www.pinkun.com/news/23284574.norwich-city-transfer-news-christos-tzolis-set-return/

It seems that though there was no recall clause, Twente were approached and agreed to end the loan and for Christos to return to Carrow Road. Like Suffolk says, this will provide another option on the left side and hopefully Christos can fit into Wagner's style of play fairly quickly and provide competition for Hernandez.

Last season he found it difficult to get playing time because of Rashica but now he has a good chance to fit in and kick on, having turned 20 today (Happy birthday Christos! ). Much will depend on him and the relationship he builds with Wagner and the other coaches and the other players. With Smith gone, it's a clean sheet for them all.

 

Marcus Vinicius Oliveira Alencar (born 7 April 2003), better known professionally as Marquinhos, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Arsenal.

 

Arsenal signed him from São Paulo so he probably knows Sara

 

Thanks for the compilations Dunc. Looks promising and probably accounts for why Springett has gone out on loan.

 

He looks pretty exciting on both wings

 

Are we watching "Wagner's tactics" or "Wagner's tactics given the squad he has inherited"? As you say, neither Skipp nor Hayden fit the requirements for the role McLean is being asked to fill, but McLean's role may only be Wagner's short term solution to a current issue.
If you look at how Huddersfield played under Wagner, the overall style was very much the same -- high pressing, high octane, direct compared to what we became used to under Farke, width provided mainly by the FBs, wide forwards coming inside with a lot of rotation between them and the striker. Absolutely crucial in all that was the out-of-defence transition, which hinged on four key players, Schindler at CB, Mooy, forming a double pivot with Hogg, Smith at RB. Schindler was capable of playing very accurate long balls from deep; Hogg was the one who dropped back to form a defensive three with the CBs; Mooy (great vision, superlative passing) was the back line's out-ball and creative pivot; Smith, strong, quick, with excellent crossing ability.
The problem for Wagner here and now is that neither Hanley or Omobamidele have Schindler's range of passing, and Hayden isn't available to play the defensive partner in the double pivot. Sara is the nearest we have for the role filled by Mooy. Aarons is our equivalent of Smith. What therefore to do? Enter Supermac, blessed with the passing range of a Schindler and the defensive discipline and acumen of a Hogg. Problem solved. Or not. We shall see.

 

Gibson can pass long, but he has other weaknesses

 

Would guess this means Sinani is leaving now.

 

Michael Bailey wrote in The Athletic about Tzolis's "disappearance" under Farke, and then Smith. As I recall, he said something to the effect that, within the club, Tzolis was viewed as, in football terms, something of a "baby". He was bought, you'll remember, with more of an eye on this season than last, but in the summer it must have been felt that he wasn't even ready then for what lay in store in the Championship. Hence his being sent out on loan. Bringing him back now is a welcome sign to me that the perspective has become more long term, rather than that Tzolis might prove the difference between success or failure promotion-wise this season.

Addendum: Alternatively, as per rumour, maybe Twente simply didn't want him and asked for a mutual cancellation of the loan. Wouldn't do anyone any good at all to have Tzolis doing nothing for half a season.

 

Yes, he can, and quite well too, but apparently nobody apart from myself wants to see a first choice CB pairing of Omobamidele and Gibson .....

 

I'm really heartened by Tzolis being given a chance to prove what he can do.

OK, 1) time may prove that is he is 'difficult' and has attitude issues, or 2) time may prove that he is one of thousands of very promising young players who fail to achieve their potential. But at least under Wagner he will be given a fair chance, which was never going to happen under Smith.

IMO, any player who failed to achieve his best under Smith deserves another chance. After all, the list is pretty impressive: Pukki, Aarons, Hanley, Omo, Gibson, Rashica, Giannoulis - all of them players who went rapidly backwards under Smith. And then there is the list of players who Smith couldn't get a tune out of but already seem revitalised under Wagner: Sara, Hernandez, Dowell, Nüñez. And for me, Tzolis deserves a new chance because he was never given a fair chance under Smith. Less than 30 minutes game time in 2022 (and Smith only arrived in November 2021). Add to this the humiliation for a 9m striker of being put in the under-23s. What a way to treat a 19/20 year-old going to another country for the first time in his life. Then Smith made it clear that Tzolis had no place in his plans for the current season (a bit of bullsh*t about long-term future, full of Smith's usual insincerity).

It's up to Tzolis now. If he's good enough and has the right attitude, he'll thrive under Wagner. At least we'll find out, which we would never have done under Smith.

 

Tzolis started well scored a few , got injured and they sent him back because he's still not recovered and no use to them .
Same story with Placheta.

Very similar to Hayden but we signed him knackered and lumbered with a huge wage drain

 

As quoted before, Wagner certainly thinks Kenny fits the role:

"Kenny brings everything to play this role. He should play a position where he has to have the ability to play long range passes, and short range passes. He is a very intelligent player as well. And obviously, you have to be able to defend and be aggressive in the right moments, especially when this counter press situations come - you have to be intelligent, football intelligent, to really see the danger in the right moments, to build up the rest of the defence quick enough, and he has everything."

When Gibson is matchfit again Wagner may well prefer him to Omobamidele because of his passing ability and his left footedness making him more of a natural on the left side. That also means McLean can slot in between Gibson and Hanley, a much more natural position for progressing the ball out of defence. Aarons suits Wagner's style of FB, as do McCallum and Giannoulis, and Sara responded well to playing the forward pivot role at Preston and Coventry. I also like the way Wagner has given Sargent a free role behind Pukki and Dowell is back to the quality he he showed in Farke's second Championship winning season, backed up now by Sinani and hopefully Marquinhos. Hernandez and Tzolis can both add their own qualities to a similar cutting in role on the left, thus increasing Wagner's options.