Norwich City entered the new year with a recent upturn in fortunes, reigniting their play-off aspirations.
However, in order to maintain their push for the top six, the Canaries must try to shore up their worryingly thin depth in wide-forward positions as soon as possible.
Aside from Player of the Season-elect Borja Sainz, only Kaide Gordon (20), Tony Springett (22) and the frequently injured Onel Hernández (31) consider themselves natural wingers.
After failing to score or assist in seven games, many fans believe the club’s overreliance on Sainz has left him burnt out amid a gruelling festive fixture schedule.
| Borja Sainz – performance before and after December (as per Transfermarkt) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start date | End date | Matches | Avg. days between matches | Goals | Assists | Minutes missed |
| August 10 | November 30 | 18 | 6.2 | 15 | 2 | 27′ |
| December 7 | January 1 | 7 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 | 10′ |
| Total | 25 | 5.8 | ||||
While the Norfolk side will struggle to emulate the level of their excellent Spanish forward, they must prioritise arrivals who can contribute when minutes are limited, as the figures show that Sainz requires a break.
With this in mind, the following two wide-forwards must be signed as soon as possible if Norwich are to pose a genuine threat during the run-in.
Lewis Dobbin
After being recalled from West Bromwich Albion by parent club Aston Villa, who has developed a reputation for recalling loans in the winter, BBC Sport reports that Norwich City are close to signing the 21-year-old on a short-term loan.
Supporters of the Carrow Road club may be concerned to find that the former Toffee made just one league start for the Baggies. However, this was less a reflection of Dobbins’ abilities and more of an unintended consequence of Mikey Johnston and Tom Fellows steadily claiming either flank.
The former England U19 international has yet to score many goals, but he boasts off-the-ball skills that can be extremely useful in Championship play, especially coming off the bench.
Dobbins was once regarded to be a natural successor to Anthony Gordon at Everton, with a familiarly relentless playstyle. His work ethic will be a big plus, but the East Anglian club will want to see the results.
While things didn’t work out at the Hawthorns, he might be the type of low-risk, high-reward player who can give Norwich an extra boost this season, and if reports are to be believed, he should be over the line soon.
Matěj Jurásek
Matěj Jurásek, a Czech Republic international, is also rumoured to be joining East Anglia this month.
The winger has been at Slavia Prague since the age of 15, and has developed as one of the most intriguing Czech talents in a generation, albeit his growth has halted recently.
A left-footed winger who prefers to cut in from the right, the 21-year-old is utterly fearless when it comes to taking on defenders; if the transfer goes through, the Canaries may have found the perfect complement to the left-sided Sainz.
A long-term investment, undoubtedly, but if Jurásek can begin to fulfil his full creative and offensive potential at Carrow Road, this may be the coup of the January window. If reports are to be believed, both of the aforementioned transactions are expected to be completed by the end of the week.
If this is the case, Norwich’s transfer and recruitment staff should be commended for correctly identifying the glaring red flags within the squad and attempting to solve the problem early on.
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