The worst kept secret in Norfolk was revealed yesterday as pacey Elliott Bennett joined from Brighton on a three year deal. The fee is thought to be in the £1.5m region which, for a player with a metric ton of assists and his fair share of goals, is pretty good going. Whether Bennett can make the step up is up for debate, but the same goes for the rest of the squad, and Lambert has clearly been an admirer for some time and dived in early to get his man. If you’ve not seen much of the guy yet then take a look at the video below – the boy got skills.
For those interested in the Academy, young striker Jack Werndly is no longer part of the setup. His departure had been rumoured for a short time but with such limited information on young players, as well as Jack not exactly being a household name in these parts, the information was hard to come by. Jack joined the club as a second year scholar from West Ham and made a big impact in the youth teams, scoring a shedload of goals before he broke his collarbone. Towards of the end of the season he had a trial with Gillingham, a move which suggested he might be ready for first team football at some level, but nothing materialised. Now Jack himself tweeted confirmation that he was no longer with the club and has signed for Rangers. A good prospect but with claims of a poor attitude, perhaps one who never settled or bought into the club.
To complete this triumvirate of transfer tat, several news outlets are now running the Redknapp quotes that claim Norwich are in the market for Stephen Caulker. There does seem to be some substance to the story but it looks like we may have to fight off Swansea to pick the guy up on a season long loan. It raises an interesting question though; at what point are Norwich going to try and get a player with proven Premier League experience? Are we going to at all? While Caulker is young and talented, his experience is limited and a move could prove risky.
But what the hell do I know. I didn’t get us promoted twice (except on Football Manager).