After the tough and fairly dull, I was there remember, draw with Preston on Saturday a few little news worthy nuggets have surfaced over the weekend.
The first thing I spotted was that according to TeamTalk, both Brentford and Norwich are battling it out to re-sign former player, Alex Pritchard. The Bees are bracing themselves for the likely loss of Said Benrahma with Crystal Palace the favourites for the Algerian star.
❇️ EXCLUSIVE ❇️
Brentford battle Norwich to re-sign former star as new suitors step up Said Benrahma chase….https://t.co/3qPMLzyg9f
— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) September 19, 2020
I can see that if they lost Benrahma that Brentford would need reinforcements and Pritchard is likely to be available for around £6m according to the report. At present, he isn’t needed at Norwich, although, if Emi Buendia were to be sold before the transfer window closes then that position could change.
Daniel Farke spoke of his admiration for Pritchard as a player and he wasn’t happy that he was sold to then Premier League, Huddersfield Town for a reported £11m back in January 2018 but the books needed balancing. He was, of course, replaced by Buendia and we have never looked back. Meanwhile, Pritchard has seemed to struggle in Yorkshire. Whenever I’ve seen him play, he has never seemed to be the game running playmaker that both Norwich and Brentford fans will remember.
Having said that, for £6m and at 27-years-old, arguably now in his peak years, he could be a decent signing for someone. I suspect that this may be little more than an enquiry, if that, and that everything will depend on who is still at the club come the closing of the transfer window at 11pm on October 5th.
A rather quiet announcement came from the club on Sunday morning concerning a loan move for Sam McCallum back to former club, Coventry City.
📝 Norwich City full-back Sam McCallum has completed a season-long loan move to Coventry City.
We wish you all the best for the season ahead, Sam!
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) September 20, 2020
That means that Norwich only have one recognised left back in Xavi Quintilla. Quintilla looks decent on his early showings but an injury could quickly put us in a spot, especially as Sam Byram is out injured until the new year, leaving Bali Mumba, Marco Stiepermann and Ben Gibson as potential options, should the worst happen. Lukas Rupp can play at right back and Max Aarons has previously played at left back, so that’s another option.
I guess it’s a calculated risk and I approve of the idea of getting McCallum a loan deal as he needs to play to continue his development and the fact that Coventry are now in the Championship makes it an easy move to make. No word if there is a break clause in the deal.
Finally, Norwich City legend Wes Hoolahan showed that he’s still got it at the weekend when he scored this worldie for his new club, Cambridge United.
Wes Hoolahan. Ages like a fine wine 🍷 pic.twitter.com/QrlOk2oRFa
— Talk Norwich City (@TalkNorwichCity) September 20, 2020
Cambridge were away at Morecombe and won the game 5-0. Wessi played the whole 90 minutes and was still shouting at his team mates in the 88th minute because they weren’t pressing as hard as he was!
Legend and GOAT 🐐
OTBC