Norwich have snapped up Josip Drmic on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach. The 26 year old striker has become the 4th signing for Norwich after signing Patrick Roberts, Daniel Adshead and Archie Mair. Norwich are expected to fight for their survival with attacking reinforcements for the upcoming season. “We made it clear we wanted to sign a new striker and we’ve found a guy who has proved himself at the highest level” said Norwich head coach Daniel Farke.
“He has lots of Bundesliga appearances and has a very good record for the Switzerland national team. He has had a difficult couple of years with injuries, but we feel he is the full package. Two or three years ago, some of the biggest clubs in Europe were interested in him. He is a great character and a good guy, and we feel his best days are still to come.”
Player History
Drmic spent his youth days in Switzerland with Zurich, where he was a part of the reserve side. Drmic made his debut in league debut in 2010, but it was the 2012/13 season that was really his breakout campaign where he scored 13 league goals and 19 in all competitions in 39 appearances. This was the season which earned him a move to FC Nuremberg in July 2013.
The 2013/14 campaign was the season in which the world took notice of his talent. He scored 17 league goals that season, third only behind Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich’s Mario Mandzukic. However, he couldn’t stop his side from relegation.
The summer of 2014 saw his performances earn him a move to Bayer Leverkusen for €6.8 million on a 5 year deal. He couldn’t get many starts, just 5 in total and 20 as a substitute, but did manage to score 6 goals in the league. However, his cup campaign wasn’t the best as he was the only player to miss a penalty against Bayern, who defeated them for a place in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal.
The following summer, he secured a move to his 3rd Bundesliga club when Borussia Monchengladbach signed him on a 4 year deal for €10 million. He could only manage 1 goal in 19 appearances in all competitions before being shipped to Hamburg SV on loan until the end of the season. There too, he could only manage 1 goal.
After just 6 appearances, he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him out till October 2017. Since returning, he could only manage 4 goals in 13 appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach. Last season, his season was again cut short, this time with a back injury due to which, he could only appear in 5 matches, scoring 2 goals.
Internationally, Drmic played 19 times for the Swiss youth levels between U-18’s to U-21’s, whilst in that time he managed to score 12 goals. Drmic was alsoa member of the squad that featured in the 2012 Olympic games, where he played 3 games. The Swiss striker made his senior debut in 2012, and has gone on to make 32 appearances, scoring 10 goals and 6 assists in this time.
Fantasy Football Potential
Drmic’s career has been hampered by injuries, especially in the past couple of seasons. But his early goal-scoring exploits might suggest that he can come to the fore with the promoted Norwich City. Although, it will be expected that he plays as a back-up to Teemu Pukki who was an important part of the side, scoring 29 goals in 43 appearances.
Considering this it is unlikely that Drmic will displace Pukki and he has most likely been brought in for some competition in the attacking positions. That said, Norwich City’s opening fixtures are not favourable with their opening five being; Liverpool (A), Newcastle (H), Chelsea (H), West Ham (A) and Manchester City (H). This therefore gives fantasy managers the time to consider whether or not Drmic is one to bring in.
If he is picking up starts, he could be a bargain priced around £5.0m-£5.5m which could enable investment in the premium players elsewhere in the team.
Written by Tamish Behal (@Tamish_Behal)
1 Response
[…] has joined the Canaries as their 3 signing that will join the main squad after Patrick Roberts and Josip Drmic, whilst Norwich have made 6 other signings who are joining the under-23 set […]