Norwich City: 5 Players Who Chris Hughton Should Pursue

The summer is often considered to be the silly season, and it’s always hard to know what speculation to believe. But some great business has already been done by Norwich, and hopefully more is on the way.

What’s clear is the club are totally serious about strengthening the squad, and some of the players that they have been linked with are fantastic. But until a deal is done, it’s simply speculation, and there is no reason to say anymore about it.

But we all hope that some of that speculation will turn into all-important signings before the start of the Premier League season. The purpose of this slideshow is to look at some of that speculation and why Chris Hughton should continue to pursue the following players.

So, sit back, grab a drink and a snack in order to enjoy my latest Norwich City-themed slideshow.

It’s very hard to know what to make of this particular one. The potential deal seems to have been rumbling on for some time. PSV seem to be open to the idea of selling the player, but so far no deal has materialised. Sky Sports were reporting in June that a fee had been agreed on between the two clubs, but the player himself doesn’t seem too keen on the move.

The fact of the matter is that Norwich reportedly agreed on this fee some time ago, but the player has yet to declare where his future lies. Previous comments have suggested that he doesn’t really know who Norwich City are and isn’t able to watch Premier League matches.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Swede would be a fine addition, but not sure a deal will go through and think it’s likely to be dead.

But until this is confirmed, we can all live in hope that the player may still be a Canary in time for the time Premier League season. Hughton is right to continue to pursue the player, but must put a time limit on the deal to ensure he has enough time left to pursue other targets before the start the season.

This Dutch midfielder is another potentially very exciting signing. We don’t have too much evidence that suggests the player will be at Norwich next season. However, there has been talk that the Canaries are favourites to sign him, despite interest from other Premier League teams.

It is believed that Everton came very close to signing the player in the January transfer window. At the time, the Guardian suggested that the Toffees were close to doing a deal for in excess of £8 million. Of course, there is every chance that they might try to do a deal again.

However, some people in the know suggest that it’s the Canaries who are the front-runners in this one. There is every likelihood that the club will have to pay something in the region of £8 million to secure his services; such a deal would be another significant show of intent and ambition from the club.

I think that there is a good chance that this deal will happen, and he looks like he has a habit of coming up with the odd goal from midfield, which is certainly something that Norwich need.

The Daily Mail reported in June that Norwich was looking to do a deal for the left back. The Swede is said to have been keen to return to the Premier League in order to boost his chances of being included with Sweden’s World Cup squad for Brazil. Obviously, the Premier League is the very best place to showcase those skills.

Again, this deal should go in the very likely category because it just seems to fit. Blackburn can’t really stand in the way of Olsson’s ambitions. Of course, Norwich City has a very good left back already at the club in the shape of Javier Garrido, but the Spaniard will need  some quality competition for next season. I think we can all agree that Olsson fits the bill and should come at a good price.

Gary Hooper was a big target for Norwich in the January transfer window and it is believed that they had a £6million offer turned down at that time. So far this summer, other Premier League clubs have been looking at the striker. However, a report in the Mirror in June suggested that Hooper is still very much on the radar.

But it should be remembered that Celtic weren’t too keen to do a deal in January, and that trend may well continue this summer. Therefore, I would probably put this deal down as a maybe at best, and with some of the other strikers that Norwich have been linked with, it’s fair to assume that they have moved their intentions elsewhere.

That all being said, I am a big admirer of the striker’s abilities and think he would be a hit in the Premier League. And it might be this desire to play in the EPL that gets him a move away from Celtic, even if the Scottish giants are desperate to hold onto him.

This is an interesting link with a very talented Belgium defender. Fresh reports from the Express suggest that Norwich have submitted a bid for the defender. It’s interesting to note that there are other Premier League clubs in the hunt, most notably Liverpool, but also Arsenal and Spurs. There is also interest from other top clubs from other top leagues.

Having said all of that, it appears that Norwich City might be the front-runners again on this potential deal. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this signing is being announced by the club within the next few days.

Toby Alderweireld is 24 years old and also plays for the Belgium national side, so comes with an excellent profile. He normally plays at centre back, and  that is clearly an area that Norwich could do with an extra option. And by the sounds of it, he could form an excellent partnership with Sebastien Bassong.

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