According to Mundo Deportivo, Espanyol are leading the race for Rayo Vallecano winger and Norwich City target Adrian Embarba.
Embarba has impressed In Spain’s second division this season, contributing to 18 goal involvements (11 goals and seven assists) in a middling Vallecano team that average just over a goal a game. This has led to interest from across the continent with West Ham and Leeds United reportedly joining Norwich and Espanyol in registering their interest.
READ NORWICH VERDICT
With the 27-year-old seemingly set on making a move to Spain’s top flight as he enters the peak of his career, Espanyol have emerged as firm favourites for Embarba’s signature but this is, in my opinion, no huge loss to a Norwich side lacking in experienced heads and industrious runners to shaw up their defensively fragile set-up.
Norwich typically deploy narrow inside forwards in Todd Cantwell and Emiliano Buendia, and it is not the pair’s output that has been troubling this season. The Canaries instead suffer from their own naive possession play, seeing individual errors and a high press allowing opposition players to turn over possession in dangerous areas and get high-quality shots off. This coupled with their lack of organisation from defensive set-pieces so nearly derailed their promotion push and has not been solved thus far in the Premier League.
As such, Norwich’s priorities in the transfer market could lie in reinforcing their defence with possession orientated defenders and acquiring the services of a more combative defensive midfielder who can trigger counter attacks. Embarba meanwhile provides no upgrade on Norwich’s current attacking options, except perhaps in his incisiveness. If Farke wants any hope of staying in the Premier League beyond this season he must begin to build from the back with a view to the future and 27-year-old wide men with no experience of English football certainly don’t fit the mould.
