According to respected newspaper the Telegraph, Norwich City have been linked with Aston Villa right-back Matthew Lowton; Derby County are also said to be interested, but Middlesbrough are leading the chase.
Having fallen out of favour under both Lambert and Sherwood, it is likely that Lowton will look to find a new club this summer. Tim Sherwood is hoping to refresh the current squad of players and Lowton is amongst a group who may well be replaced.
Lowton began his career at Sheffield United, working his way up through the academy and reserve ranks, before breaking into the team through a series of substitute appearances. The Blades dropped into League One where Lowton enjoyed regular first team football – securing 55 appearances – and consequently attracted the interest of Villa in 2012. He signed for the Midlands club for a fee in the region of £3 million and went on to make 72 appearances, scoring 2 goals.
Last season, Lowton managed just 12 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, and was left out of the squad entirely on 14 occasions.
Transfermrkt.co.uk currently value the full back at £1.8 million, however with two years still left on his contract, it might take more to lure him away.
At 25 he still has many years left in his career and will likely be a solid addition to any lower-half Premier League side’s squad. Derby have also been linked with Villa midfielder Andreas Weimann so a double swoop may be on the cards. However, while Middlesbrough too are showing considerable interest, you cannot see why the full-back would choose the Championship over the Premier League if Norwich are interested.
But it brings up the old debate, does Whittaker need to be replaced? It’s generally been a very one sided argument – yes, he’s simply not good enough.
However, Alex Neil has got the best out of the Scotsman, and he’s on course to get the TCC Most Improved Player Award for last season. Regardless, there’s no doubt he struggled in the Premier League last time, as did defensive partner Russell Martin. Despite both players perhaps deserving a second shot having earned promotion, Norwich must be wary not to fall into the same traps that caught them out previously. After all, the starting team fielded by Alex Neil at Wembley was mostly made up of those players who got relegated the season before – Cameron Jerome the only exception.
Matthew Lowton could be a sensible purchase, however he’s currently most likely to go to Middlesbrough, who have been linked with him most heavily. Either way, expect to see the Norwich defence bolstered in one way or another this transfer window, with the likes of Michael Turner having being on-loan and unwanted.
What are your thoughts on Matthew Lowton? If a deal was to materialise, would he be a worthwhile addition? Comment below…
