Ben Knapper has drawn up a January target list, and new Norwich City figurehead Mark Attanasio has given him the green light to step up the chase.
The US-based billionaire paid a brief visit to Norfolk during the annual general meeting, where he spoke with the sporting director about his plans for the forthcoming season.
Attanasio announced following the shareholder meeting. Knapper is eager to bolster Johannes Hoff Thorup’s squad.
“Nobody maybe believes this but the only cap on what we can put our hand in our pockets for is profit and sustainability rules,” says Attanasio. “I’ll be here for my third season, and adding players during the January transfer window is challenging. The player we added last year did not pan out, which may be part of the appeal of sports.
“Ben has identified a few of targets, but they are so good that other clubs want them as well. Several further clubs. So it’s a wait-and-see. Looking back on the summer, he did a wonderful job of presenting a story for what he wants to do. So, I would say it’s more of the same. You can sort of connect the dots.
“He informed me and my son Mike that it’s too early to discuss it at this time, but we’ll talk about it again in a month or two.
“If Ben says, ‘Hey, I’ve got three great guys,’ and that doesn’t match what he’s told us, we’ll ask the question about doing things differently, but if Ben finds three who are a good fit, we’ll look into it.”
“Also the coaches, because Johannes has said he doesn’t want to have an overly-wieldy squad to manage, and he doesn’t want to have people sitting on the bench who are sulking because they think they’re as good as the people on the pitch.”
City’s top brass also expect crucial striker Josh Sargent, Marcelino Nunez, and the rest to be fit and available ahead of the January transfer window.
“In the discussion, Ben stated that everyone, including Josh, should be back by January, during the transfer window. That means we’re bringing back a lot of really good players from within,” stated the City Director and major owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. “It has perhaps tempered my expectations for where we might end up this year. We could yet make the playoffs.
“We’re exactly where we were last year, and I believe that if this club stays healthy, it will be more dangerous in the playoffs than last year. Injuries have bitten us thus far.
“It’s why it’s important to have a plan and to follow through and execute on that plan, because we know we’re moving in the right direction, and we’re going to keep doing things in that direction and not stray to find band aids or short term solutions.”
Attanasio and his family have expressed their disappointment with City’s recent performance.
“Three points out of 18.” “You live and die with every match, as we do in baseball,” he explained. “This year, our team was the only one in Major League Baseball that did not lose four games in a row, and that was after 162 games.
“The fact that we just lost three people hurts. And how we lost was even worse. But after 20 seasons of athletics, you realize you’re never as good as you think you are when you’re doing well, and you’re not as horrible as you think you are when you’re not.”
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