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Croft’s delight at the first six; now Grant hints a No7 for No20 is in-bound

19th July 2007 By Latest News Leave a Comment

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There might have been one person exiting since he spoke, but as far as Lee Croft was concerned Norwich's summer transfer spree has yielded some prize guys.

Tonight and City boss Peter Grant was dropping big, broad hints that No7 was en route – on loan out of the Premiership.

Croft's big pal Dickson Etuhu is, of course, the one that has disappeared. Otherwise, the Canary winger was more than happy with the six new faces that have walked through the door.

“All of them have done really well since they have come in,” said Croft, who was back in action with three of them at The Walks this evening – two-goal star Jamie Cureton, Czech striker David Strihavka and French midfield enforcer Julien Brellier.

Only keeper Matt Gilks has yet to put in an appearance as both David Marshall and Jon Otsemobor proved little more than spectators on Tuesday night as Chris Martin and friends ripped Lowestoft Town apart.

“They've settled in really well – and it's a great group of lads anyway,” said Croft, who topped up his own match fitness levels with another 75 minute run-out against the Linnets.

His likely battle with Luke Chadwick for that right-midfield role is certainly one to watch this summer.

“My fitness is good – I feel good. Over the next few games, I'm sure the sharpness will come and we'll all be ready for the start of the season.”

It is, he readily admitted, far more fun running round with a ball at his feet than running round Colney.

“Even in training we enjoy playing possession, playing little five-a-sides, playing games. Because that's where you get your best fitness from rather than your running.

“I don't think there's any better fitness than when you're playing games.”

It appears that new-boy Strihavka is fast proving everyone's best Czech mate – even if fluent Czech speakers are likely to be rather thin on the ground in the Colney dressing room.

“He's a really nice lad – he doesn't speak much English at the moment. Basically you just have to talk slowly. He's got a little book with him which converts Czech to English so we have a bit of banter with him about that.

“But he looks like he's got a lot of talent, so hopefully the gaffer can nurture that – we can all help him settle in and he'll be a good player for us.”

Cureton, clearly, will take rather less time to settle. Bagging those two goals in City's 4-0 dismissal of Keith Webb's latest charges will have helped the one-time Canary trainee find his feet back again in Norfolk.

You also get the impression that he and Croft could be on the same wavelength – much as Chadwick and Martin were at Crown Meadow on Tuesday. There might be ten years difference in ages between Messrs Croft and Cureton, but personality-wise they are peas from a pretty similar pod.

“With Jamie – and David – I think we seem to have a bit of an understanding. Both in training and in pre-season,” said Croft.

“Especially with Jamie – I think I've got a bit of an understanding so that's something to look forward to and it should be an exciting season.

“No banter yet – I think he's too mature,” said Croft. “But, no, he's a good lad and a very good player.”

In the meantime, Grant was looking to swiftly fill the hole left by Etuhu's ?1.5 million exit to Sunderland by bolting on a Premiership loan player – even in time for him to travel to Holland for next week's pre-season tour.

“Hopefully a midfielder and hopefully before we go to Holland,” Grant revealed after this evening's game.

“We should know more about it tonight and if it happens it will be a loan,” he added, with the City boss ruling out a return to his old East End haunts for Lee Bowyer – scotching stories in The Guardian this morning.

It will not be a permanent move; nor even a season-long loan. As a pick-me-up after the fall-out from the Etuhu exit, it could be just the deal.

“In terms of the length of loan it depends on his club,” said Grant. “I would like to make it a season-long loan but I know his club rate him so they may want to do it over a shorter period.

“He is a Premiership player and, as I said, we should know more about it later tonight.”

Much has already been made of the fact that the No5 shirt remains vacant – many have long presumed that is held in readiness for the August arrival of a young buck of a Premiership defender.

Events of the last 72 hours, however, may have prompted a flurry of phone-calls and – on the basis of 'Doing what it takes…' to get in someone to fill the now vacant No20 shirt – a big wad of that Etuhu cash could now be being slapped on a Premiership manager's table to get someone in and move on. It's also likely to be a good night for some agent somewhere. These deals aren't cheap.

After last night's game at Lowestoft, Grant admitted that the search for new players never stops – the hunt for another Etuhu may have seen one or two old folders swiftly resurrected.

“You're always looking to replace players at all times anyway because you never know in football how quickly things change,” said Grant.

“And now we've got to try and replace him. That's the job now. But you've always got to be wary of that – that at all times you could lose top quality players.”

Given the whole sense of confusion that surrounds Youssef Safri's future at the football club and Grant's determination to bed down his likely starting eleven for August 11 in next week's trip to Holland, the manager's urgency is wholly understandable.

He wants some certainty back in his life; Safri's movements this season are anything but.

Hence his determination to find a bright, new shiny pal for Julien Brellier to play with.


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