Everyone knows the tale of Ricky van Wolfswinkel. The £8.5 million striker who scored just one goal.
Well, after his career-stuttering move to Norwich the striker could be returning to his old club. According to Portuguese newspaper, A Bola, (as well as The Mirror) Sporting Lisbon are interested in van Wolfswinkel on a loan basis, potentially with the option to buy.
The once-prolific striker arrived from Sporting Lisbon in July 2013, although the deal had been openly confirmed earlier on in the season. He was to be the final piece of Chris Hughton’s Premier League puzzle. Unfortunately though, the piece didn’t fit the puzzle. Hughton tried to jam him in regardless, playing him as a replacement for Grant Holt. His slight figure struggled in the lonely, isolated role upfront. The expectations were astronomically high after being branded as the ‘big bad wolf’ and the repeated mentioning that he was City’s record signing. With such expectation came great pressure, and it didn’t take long for his confidence to come crashing down. He fell into a sorrowful cycle of misfortune and misery, lurching from disappointment to injury to disappointment.
Having spent a season on-loan at Ligue 1 side St Etienne, scoring 9 goals (5 league), it was thought he might make a permanent move there. This idea was accentuated with St Etienne striker Max Gradel wanting out, and therefore a vacancy being created. However, the French side turned down the option to buy once his loan came to an end so now he is in search of somewhere else.
One thing that is for certain is that Norwich will never recoup what they paid for him. They’ll be lucky to get more than three million.
For van Wolfswinkel, a fresh start is probably what he needs; a return to Sporting Lisbon would offer him that opportunity with the added bonus of familiarity.
Soon van Wolfswinkel will meet up with the rest of the Norwich City squad for the beginning of preseason – that’s assuming he’s still a Norwich player by then.
Will you be disappointed to see him go? Leave a comment below.
