Alex Neil’s squad for the preseason tour of Germany and Austria contained many surprise inclusions and exclusions. In this article I will look at who made the plane, who did not and see what we can interpret from this.
Jacob Murphy has to be the biggest surprise in the squad. Often seen as the lesser Murphy twin, he pipped his brother to a seat on the plane. Why he and not Josh was on the trip is a mystery. My personal opinion is that Alex Neil may be looking to ensure both get the same level of inclusion and experience, and with Jacob being frequently left out, this may be his chance to shine and show that Josh hasn’t got the crown of best Murphy boy yet.
Josh joined the U21 training camp, who have separate friendlies from the senior squad and are stationed elsewhere. With him, and a surprise exclusion from the seniors, was Louis Thompson.
Thompson’s performances in preseason have excitited many fans and The Guardian recently said that he was an U20 to watch this season. The Welsh central midfielder spent all last season on loan at former club Swindon and his first appearances in green and yellow have shown he is a good prospect for the future. Whether Alex Neil still believes he needs more nurturing in the youth ranks we can only speculate, but hopefully we will see more of the lad and see if he can push for first team minutes.
Another youth exclusion from the squad was Connor McGrandles. The young Scotsman was signed by former manager Neil Adams, however, featured little last season. Preseason has shown he’s an exciting prospect, with his quick runs down the wing and good crossing opportunities to put balls in for the likes of Cameron Jerome and Ricky van Wolfswinkel. This could be a sign that he does not feature in Neil’s immediate plans and could be destined for a season out on loan, possibly returning to Scotland with Neil’s former club, Hamilton.
An inclusion that some ‘ITK’s’ tried to tell us would never happen is Ricky Van Wolfswinkel. With Neil saying that the Dutch international does have a future at Norwich, we will find out if this season could be the year we see the striking prowess of ‘O Lobo’.
Martin Olsson also travelled, showing that significant progress must be being made since his shoulder operation in May. The only injury exclusion is Kyle Lafferty, who the club has said is remaining in England for treatment of a knee injury.
