Norwich City Transfer Window Review: The board have done all they can, now it’s over to the players

If I had been asked to review the success of Norwich City’s January transfer window prior to Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham then I would likely have been far more positive than I am going to be now, with the worryingly lacklustre display still firmly in the forefront of my mind. However, if I try my best to ignore Tuesday’s display, it is difficult not to be positive about our dealings. Having spent a reported £24 million, Norwich City fans, for once, cannot question the clubs ambition. When you consider that during our relegation season two years ago City’s January additions comprised of just Joseph Yobo and Jonas Gutierrez on loan - it is hard to grumble at the boards offerings this time around.

In Timm Klose the club has, for the first time since signing Michael Turner and Sebastien Bassong in 2012, finally invested substantially in a first-team centre-back. We have recently been going through a period of serious neglect towards the centre-back berth, signing a number of cheap, mediocre defenders (the likes of Carlos Cuellar and Ignasi Miquel) who have not added to the side. However, Klose’s reported £7.7million price-tag, accompanied by his Champions League pedigree suggests that, at long last, we have at least attempted to strengthen our back-line. The Swiss international was one of the few who came out of Tuesday’s defeat with any grace in tact - after a slow start the ex-Wolfsburg man looked dominant and composed, something which couldn’t be said for his partner Bassong.

While it took Klose just 90 minutes to prove that he’ll add to our side, fellow new signing Ivo Pinto has failed to do the same. Right-back is another position that the club has appeared to neglect over the years - I would go as far back as the 2011-12 season and Kyle Naughton for the last right-back that I felt we could depend upon. Any hopes that Pinto could be the solution to this problem have been put on hold following his first two performances. While playing Liverpool and Tottenham is hardly an easy introduction to the English game, positionally he has looked all over the place. He has shown glimpses of his offensive qualities but we already have a defender in Stephen Whittaker who can attack but can’t defend - we don’t need another.

Steven Naismith represents a signing that almost any of our rivals would love to have in their side. The Scot will never stop running, acts as a brilliant link-up man between midfield and attack and has already demonstrated his keen eye for goal. If there is anyone that is going to fire us to survival then it is this man. Some have questioned the reported £7-8million price-tag but when you consider that we managed to shift Lewis Grabban - scorer of just one Premier League goal this season - to Bournemouth for a similar price, then this stands out as one of the best signings of the window. I’m certain Naismith will go on to prove this to be the case between now and the end of the season.

Naismith was joined in the new attacking signing ranks by Patrick Bamford, who has joined City until the end of the season. This is another signing that has pleased most Canary supporters - the fact that it is only a loan means there is little risk attached to it and we saw what the Chelsea man could do to sides, including ourselves, at Middlesborough last season. As Alex Neil said upon Bamford’s signing, at the start of the season “Bamford would have been a £10million signing” and despite a disappointing first-half of the campaign at Palace he shouldn’t be written off not up to the top level just yet. After all, Harry Kane was ridiculed as useless during his time on-loan at Norwich and we all know how that has panned out!

Overwhelming satisfaction at the quality of our senior signings was furthered by the promising additions of three for the future - Ebou Adams, Ben Godfrey and, most notably, James Maddison. The first two come as relatively unknown, but highly-rated quantities,while Maddison signs as a name on the lips of many clubs bigger than ourselves. Before Norwich appeared to come in with an offer in the eleventh hour, all of the rumours suggested that Coventry’s 19-year-old would be heading to one of Liverpool or Tottenham in the summer. The fact that we managed to pip them suggests that this is a big coup for the club. As a side-note, signing players for numerous million pounds and then loaning them out, is this what it truly feels to be a big club?!

To conclude, it is difficult not to be satisfied with the club’s dealings in the window. We have both strengthened our current team, while making quality signings for the future can only be seen as healthy for a club like ourselves. For the first time in a while, the board have appeared to do everything they can in significantly backing Alex Neil - it is now over to him and his players to repay the faith that the club has shown in them.