Norwich City have announced two more loan deals for squad players, Louis Thompson and Academy prospect, Louis Lomas.
Thompson has completed his second loan move of the season with a move to League One with Russell Martin’s MK Dons, having spent the first half of the season at Shrewsbury Town.
🗣 "I’m delighted to get this one done. I know Louis has the right character and quality to really strengthen us both on and off the pitch – he is exactly the type of player that we want at the Club”#DonDealhttps://t.co/uXBlPNJIT8
— Milton Keynes Dons (@MKDonsFC) January 16, 2020
It didn’t really work out for Louis as he suffered more injury problems with the Shrews and he was recalled by Norwich with a view to getting him more game time. Step in former Canary Captain, Russell Martin who obviously knows the player well.
Thompson has always looked a really good player but he has to be the unluckiest man with injuries at the club (since Matt Jarvis left). When Norwich were previously in the Premier League, he earned a move to Carrow Road from Swindon Town and hopefully under Martin, a man who knows him well, he should get a chance to show what he can do.
Another player on the move is centre back Louis Lomas who heads out to Florida with a loan to City’s partner club, The Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Delighted to be going on loan to @TampaBayRowdies , can’t wait to get started 👊🏼 🇺🇸 https://t.co/bDwDGsOMyp
— Louis Lomas (@LouisLomas_) January 16, 2020
This move is a huge adventure for young Louis and a chance to not only play regularly but also to experience a different lifestyle and culture. It’s a fantastic opportunity and it says something about the lad that he’s prepared to move across the Atlantic for this chance.
Fair play and good luck.
Talking of central defenders, there’s plenty of speculation about the acquisition of a new centre back in this transfer window amongst the Canary nation. Whether that happens or not is likely to depend on a number of things and obviously, the prospect of Championship football next season is one of those things.
City have been linked to highly rated young Ajax defender, Sven Botman amongst others but I just wonder if Norwich might hold off until the summer for this position.
Ben Godfrey is back in training and I’m assuming that he’ll at least be on the bench for Bournemouth on Saturday, presuming that Hanley and Zimmermann keep their places in the side. I can hardly remember when we last had three centre backs fit.
With Timm Klose likely to be back in first team training in less than a month, that raises the prospect of having four fit central defenders, sooner rather than later. Where would a new first team ready centre back fit into that scenario?
I’m not so sure that he would. This lad, Botman looks like a top prospect and I’d be very pleased to see us sign him but much will depend on Ajax, who are unlikely to need to sell such a highly rated young man as well as the player himself, who will be far less attracted by the Championship than the Premier League.
If the deal is possible then I’m sure that City would be keen, perhaps leaving Botman on loan for the rest of the season where he currently is at SC Heerenveen. There’s still half of January left to go so plenty of time to get deals done but as Stuart Webber has already pointed out, any business done in this window will have to be with one eye on next season and a potential return to the Championship.
Finally, a couple of weeks ago we brought you speculation that Tanzania striker, Mbwana Samatta was a target for Norwich. The 27-year-old Genk striker was mooted as having interested the Canaries but now it seems he is set to sign for Aston Villa.
In desperate need of a striker, after Wesley suffered a long-term injury, it now looks like Samatta is about to join Villa in a £10m deal which, of course, immediately prices us out of the market.
OTBC