David Norris has urged his former club to land Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell…
What’s the talk?
Ex-Leeds midfielder David Norris has backed his former club to sign Norwich attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell, as he believes that it would be a great deal for the club. He told This Is Futbol:
“I really like him. I’ve seen him over the years and he is a good player who can create chances and score.
“I could see him doing quite well at Leeds, in that attacking line-up. He’s a very good player. If they have a chance of getting him and I saw that Leeds have signed Cantwell, I’d be happy with that.”
This comes after The Athletic’s Michael Bailey ruled out a move to Aston Villa for the Canaries academy product this window.
Bielsa would love him
Victor Orta must sanction a swoop for Cantwell this summer. Leeds were reportedly in talks with Norwich over a deal for the midfielder at the start of last season and ultimately failed to get it across the line, as the player stayed at Carrow Road and helped his hometown team win the Championship title.
With Villa’s interest seemingly cooling in him, it could be the perfect time for Leeds to reignite their flame and enter the race for his signature. The Whites could have no competition to land the Englishman because of Villa’s transfer decision, which could mean that they only need to negotiate a fee with Norwich and would not need to worry about another team coming in to oust them.
Marcelo Bielsa would love to have him at Elland Road for a couple of reasons. For starters, Cantwell has natural talent and is excellent with the ball at his feet. His former Norwich youth team coach, Gary Cockaday, hailed his talents as God-given. He told The Athletic: “Todd looked at one of them in the eye, put his toe under the ball, flicked it back over his head, turned and he was gone. All without looking at the ball.
“He did things every week that were just special. It was God-given. No one taught it. I always believed if you had someone like that, don’t change them or make them conform.”
In 94 league career appearances for Norwich, across the Championship and Premier League, Cantwell has averaged 1.2 key passes and 1.4 dribbles completed per game. This shows that he has the technical ability to beat players with the ball at his feet whilst also providing chances at the end of his runs. Bielsa would love to have a player like this in his team as he could create chances for the likes of Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.
The Argentine coach would also be delighted with this deal as Cantwell is only 23. He has the majority of his career still left ahead of him and Bielsa could enjoy working with him on the training pitch to help him fulfil his potential at the top level.
The ex-Marseille manager would be thrilled with the opportunity to develop another promising young player, whilst improving his Leeds side.
AND in other news, Imagine him and Raphinha: Leeds must land “unplayable” beast to seal terrifying attack…