If Daniel Farke’s first season in Norfolk was forgettable, his second was fantastic. Tipped for mid-table, Norwich City instead won the Championship, hauls of 94 points and 93 goals showing how creative and productive they were.
Sporting director Stuart Webber’s recruitment produced a host of bargains, with wingers Emi Buendia and Onel Hernandez offering flair and Marco Stiepermann a revelation after being moved from left-back to No 10.
After a quiet summer, Norwich lack big names or Premier League experience but they remain true to the policy that brought them this far. If survival would be success, it would be a mistake to underestimate them.
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Who finishes where in 2019-20?
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Key player: Teemu Pukki
The free transfer who would have been a bargain at £10 million (Dh45.5m), Pukki scored 29 goals in his debut season in Norfolk. For good measure, he added 10 assists. He made Farke’s 4-2-3-1 formation work; not electric, he nonetheless eluded defenders with brilliant movement. But can he do the same at a higher level?
Signing to watch: Patrick Roberts
It is more than five years since Roberts made a Premier League debut at just 17. Since then, he has struggled to realise that early potential, particularly in the last two, injury-hit seasons, and he failed to score while on loan at Girona last year. But Farke has shown he can improve wingers.
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The best summer transfers
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Talking point: Can Norwich keep the goals out?
City’s exciting young full-backs Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons were rightly praised for their promise and attacking efforts last season but, while centre-back Christoph Zimmerman had a fine campaign, the reality was that Norwich conceded 57 goals, more than 16th-place Stoke, City including 34 at home.
It scarcely bodes well for their chances of keeping clean sheets against superior attacks. Only four teams conceded more set-piece goals than the Canaries last season so there is a need to tighten up. Farke has proved he is an excellent attacking coach; Norwich’s fate now may depend on how well he can drill his defence.
