With the season now officially over and Norwich’s relegation to the Championship confirmed, we can begin to fret over who is going to leave the club this summer.
Ask any Norwich fan right now which player they would most like to see stay at the club for next season and I am sure they would say “Timm Klose.” Klose has sewn himself onto the hearts of Norwich fans with his fantastic performances at the back and hilarious use of social media – he’s the master of defending and Snapchat.
Norwich fans were upset at the start of January for not signing a central defender in the summer and were even more infuriated when Italian defender Andrea Ranocchia rejected the club. However, Klose would soon change all this anger into ecstasy.
18th January 2016 – remember that date. That was the day that Klose was first announced as a Norwich City player. He joined from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for a reported fee of £9.1m, which would make him the club’s record signing. Klose came to the club with a very good reputation, having played at Champions League level for Wolfsburg and Internationally for Switzerland.
Upon signing, he was quoted as saying this:
When I came here and saw the training ground, the stadium, and everything – it was fantastic.
He was clearly impressed with the club, and vice-versa. He quickly asserted himself in the Norwich defence and was cutting up an imposing figure for opposition attacks. Klose’s best performance came against Manchester City, when he kept the Blues at bay almost by himself. The Swiss defender probably still has Sergio Aguero stuck in his pocket at Colney.
After another incredible performance from Klose against Newcastle, which also saw him head in his first goal for the club, it looked like Norwich were all set to stay in the Premier League. However, Klose damaged his knee ligaments after a challenge from Dwight Gayle the following week in a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace.
Following on from Klose’s injury, Norwich lost four games in-a-row without scoring a goal. This meant that relegation was all but confirmed, with Sunderland only needing one win from their last two matches after that run. Sunderland beat Everton in the first of those two games to seal Norwich’s relegation, despite the Canaries beating Watford 4-2 at Carrow Road.
It’s horrible to think what could have been. But, you have to imagine that Norwich fans would be celebrating a successful survival fight right now if Klose hadn’t of picked up his injury, as he was transforming a dysfunctional Norwich defence/team.
In his ten Premier League matches, Klose averaged 14 defensive actions (clearances, blocks, tackles) per match. He also won 62% of his duels, including 70% of his aerial duels (Squawka stats). In those ten matches, he also won five of our Read Norwich man of the match awards. It’s safe to say that he had a major impact on the side.
So, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue is “Will Klose stay at Norwich?”. Well, I think there are reasons why he could, but there are also reasons as to why he may not.
First of all, he only signed in January. Klose joined the club five months ago, to the day, and there is a chance that the club would completely refuse to sell after such a short time at the club. Yes, sometimes it happens at other clubs, but usually that comes when the player hasn’t performed in that time – Klose has.
Although, given that he is likely to be on very high wages – Norwich could be keen to get him off the wage bill and collect a sizeable fee for the player. Being relegated from the Premier League to the Championship is a massive drain on resources for a football club and having such a valuable asset to cash in could be too big for Norwich to refuse.
Another factor that could be important is his injury. Klose is still sidelined with a knee injury and is expected to miss the European Championships with Switzerland this summer after not being named in their preliminary squad for the finals in France. This could be a major factor, as he won’t be showcased on the European stage for other teams to eye him up and make offers. Also, his injury could potentially rule him out until after the transfer window ends, which would surely guarantee that he stays at the club for at least the first half of the Championship season.
However, his injury could also see him come back in time for the European Championships if he can get fit before Switzerland announce their final squad. Yet, that seems like an unlikely scenario given the nature of his injury. If, however unlikely, this did happen then he would be able to showcase his talents on a massive platform and attract more suitors in the summer, which could tempt Norwich into selling their star.
His ability has to be part of the discussion, too. Klose is far too good for the Championship. He looked head and shoulders above the rest of our players in Premier League matches, I can’t even imagine what he would be like in the Championship, scary. He has what it takes to play in the Premier League, it depends on whether other clubs can see that or not.
His price will certainly come into consideration as well. If Norwich did sign him for £9.1m – they won’t be selling him for a fee of under £10m, that is for sure. Alex Neil has confirmed that the club is in no need to sell their best players and that clubs will have to stump up big fees to lure them away. Klose only signed five months ago and still has just over three years left on his contract so Norwich are in no rush to sell, it would take a lot of money to prize him away. So, would any club be willing to spend that sort of money on a player who has played just ten Premier League matches? That remains to be seen…
Finally, another factor that I think could be influential is his character. You see a lot of players who force their way out of clubs and leave looking for money, disrespecting the club in order for personal gain. However, I have no worries about this with Klose. He is one of the nicest guys that I have ever had the pleasure to meet in football and has a fantastic personality. After playing just ten matches for the club, Klose may feel like he owes it to the club and the fans to stay in Norfolk and help them return to the Premier League at the first attempt next season.
Weighing up all the factors, it is still very hard to judge whether or not he will stay. I personally think that there is a big chance that he will stay, but there hasn’t been much indication in either direction so far.
I think that keeping Klose at the club this summer would be bigger than any signing we could possibly make in the Championship. He would easily be the best defender in the league and would give us a fantastic chance of returning back to the top-flight.
