Norwich City are in the process of activating Anis Ben Slimane’s permanent option from Sheffield United – but the major question is, why now?
The Tunisian international joined Norwich on the eve of deadline day in the summer on a season-long loan with a £1.2 million buyout clause that, under certain situations, becomes an obligation.
Four months before the end of the current Championship season, and with Slimane out due to an ankle ligament injury, Norwich have decided that now is the time to sign him permanently.
Norwich is under no obligation to move forward with this transaction right away. They opted to do it for a variety of reasons. Chris Wilder has stated that talks are ongoing, and rumors in Denmark say the 23-year-old will sign a contract until 2028.
City’s sporting director Ben Knapper and head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup made the choice based on Slimane’s performance, temperament, and personality within their first-team squad. The choice is considered as providing him greater clarity about his future.
Slimane made it plain before joining City in the summer that he wanted to be at Carrow Road and has always envisioned his future there. His choice to force a move to Norwich to rejoin Thorup speaks eloquently about his desire to wear yellow and green.
Thorup regards Slimane as an important aspect of his future endeavor. Because of his previous experience with Thorup, which dates back to his youth days at Danish club Akademisk Boldklub, he did not require a lengthy time of adaptation or learning the system.
He can now settle in Norfolk, purchase a house instead of renting, and start a life for himself. These elements are frequently missed while analyzing transfers.
Norwich believes his performances have been promising, and prior to his latest setback, there were flashes of consistency and quality coming in his game.
Given his age, there is room for more progress and development. City are sure that Thorup, Glen Riddersholm, Jack Wilshere, and others can coax it out of him in the coming seasons.
Slimane’s robustness needs to be improved, but Norwich feel he can do so with a specialist physical performance plan and an impending pre-season.
It is also worth noting that Slimane arrived at Norwich with a hamstring injury and spent a portion of the pre-season at Sheffield United; in fact, he has been playing catch-up ever since.
Slimane has been labeled as ‘injury prone’, although the 23-year-old midfielder has played more games in his career than Marcelino Nunez, Jose Cordoba, Borja Sainz, and Josh Sargent, to mention just four City players.
The present injury that has disabled him occurred while marking Carlton Morris at a corner of a pitch at Kenilworth Road that left a lot to be desired. It is not a recurrence of a past issue, but rather bad luck. Players do sustain injuries. It is a necessary component of the game.
Slimane’s rehabilitation plan is currently being supervised by Sheffield United, and Norwich must adhere to it, as is customary for loan players. Any medical decisions must be reviewed by his parent club, and data exchanged. If City is successful in reaching an agreement, they will be able to take control of the process and no longer have to share performance statistics with the Blades.
Freeing up a loan spot is not an issue because EFL clubs can sign an unlimited number of players on loan but can only name five in any matchday squad. Slimane is one of three loanees, the other two being Kaide Gordon and Lewis Dobbin, therefore there are still two spaces available even if this agreement does not become permanent.
Then there are Sheffield United considerations. They are aiming for an automatic return to the top division and would appreciate a financial boost to assist Wilder with any prospective arrivals. The Blades’ manager has stated unequivocally that Slimane will not play for the club again.
The desire of all parties to complete this transaction has made it a no-brainer. Norwich see it as a proof of their commitment to Slimane as they continue to churn the group into one capable of consistently executing Thorup’s style of play.
If the offer is good, they believe in his talent, the player wants to stay, and the selling club wants to cash in, why not do it? At £1.2 million, Norwich will struggle to find a comparable player with Slimane’s quality, experience, and profile.
That clarity is beneficial, as it eliminates one scenario to resolve ahead of a potentially busy summer period for the Canaries. The money is then committed, making it easier to budget ahead of that window.
It is up to Slimane to repay that faith, but he is relieved that his mid-to-long-term future has been sorted, with him playing for Norwich on a permanent basis. This is the outcome that both the Tunisian international and the club desired.
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