Matej Jurasek, perhaps unfairly, has been used as a stick to beat Ben Knapper’s recruitment for Norwich City with over the past 18 months.
Since his £6m move from Slavia Prague, the Czechia international has rarely been available and rarely made an impact on the pitch for the Canaries, for a variety of reasons.
The Canaries winger, signed by Johannes Hoff Thorup, has become a punching bag for some supporters on social media, with many writing him off in pre-season.
Matej Jurasek’s Norwich struggles so far
Some of the criticism around Jurasek is understandable and justified. He only played 83 minutes in the second half of the 2024/25 Championship season, and played 500 minutes last term.
However, his start to life at Carrow Road was a disaster and it was not his fault. He had to wait weeks to link up with his new teammates due to ESC rules and then joined midway through the season with his fitness lacking because of that delay.
The forward then had a hernia issue that was eventually identified and worked on, which meant that he missed a period over the summer to get himself in contention for pre-season under Liam Manning.
He showed flashes of quality under Manning, including an impressive assist for Jack Stacey against Wrexham, but was largely an unused substitute for the English manager, who did not favour traditional wide players in his 3-4-2-1 system.
Jurasek had his best run of games in a Norwich shirt around the festive period under Clement, assisting against QPR and scoring against Walsall, before suffering a season-ending foot injury against Middlesbrough in February.
The 22-year-old forward, therefore, has already had to go through a lot in his 18 months at Carrow Road, with delays, fitness issues, and a change in manager that hindered his progress.
Now, he has just finished a full pre-season under Clement, featuring in every game, and looks to be in the best condition he has been in since arriving in Norfolk.
Predicting Matej Jurasek’s Norwich role this season
Norwich have signed Andre Brooks from Sheffield United for an initial fee of £8m to be their first-choice on the right side of the attack, cutting in on his left foot to offer variation to the team’s attack.
That does not mean that Jurasek should be written off, though, because the Jamaica international is coming off the back of a knee injury and is unlikely to be fit to start all 46 matches.
And even in the games that Brooks does start, Clement may need a player to bring on for him towards the end to keep fresh legs in the attack.
Jurasek could be the perfect back-up to the £8m-rated star as another left-footed right winger who can cut in on his favoured foot to make things happen in the final third, as he did for Harry Darling’s goal against Osasuna last weekend.
If he can remain fit, the 22-year-old attacker could compete with Brooks for a starting role on the right and give Clement the attacking depth that he sorely lacked last season.
It may not be a breakout season for Jurasek, who is still trying to prove that he was worth the money that the club paid for him, but it could be a great step in the right direction for him to be a valuable squad player in the coming months.
The fact that Clement has relied on him as a starter for most of pre-season on the right wing and decided to put Amankwah Forson on the transfer list ahead of him speaks to how much he has impressed behind the scenes.
It is now down to Jurasek to prove to Clement and the supporters that he can be consistently available and consistently productive on the pitch when the season kicks off this month.
