Sky Sports Norwich City: Johannes Hoff Thorup on Ashley Barnes role.
Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup believes Ashley Barnes has a role in Norwich City’s new era.
The striker appeared for the first time in almost six months as the Canaries defeated his previous club Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday, coming on as a substitute to play alone up front. Thorup believes Barnes will fit into his system as the 35-year-old returns from injury to reinforce a depleted attacking squad.
“I see him for us as a ‘nine’,” stated the City manager. “I believe we can easily identify a role for him in which he can drop and link the game, finding that gap between the back and midfield lines.
“I don’t think we should underestimate his ability to read the game; he’s bright. I watched some of his late Burnley outings from when they were in the Championship a few seasons ago, and I believe he performed well. “Of course he will never produce numbers like Marcelino (Nunez) for us, that’s impossible, but I think he will organise that first line of pressing well.” Thorup feels Barnes’ presence will result in a more balanced workload for summer signing Ante Crnac, in addition to his natural mentoring role.
“Actually with Barnesy I don’t have to do much, because he’s doing it himself,” he told me. “He’s great out there on the pitch with the other guys; he’s supportive and a great teammate.” “So it’s only normal, and it will happen. However, Ante will benefit because we will no longer have to play him for 90 minutes every time. We didn’t expect him to play almost every minute for us.”
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