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Lupoli duly signs up for a one-year tour of duty as Roeder’s best-laid plans bear fruit

22nd July 2008 By Latest News Leave a Comment

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The Canaries tonight finally confirmed what the messageboards and the Italian media had long been claiming – that one-time Arsenal starlet Arturo Lupoli was Norfolk-bound.

The 21-year-old Fiorentina striker, whose three-spell at the Gunners included 37 goals from 38 reserve team matches, has agreed to a one-year loan deal at Carrow Road and duly becomes Glenn Roeder's fifth signing of an increasingly impressive transfer summer.

With Roeder himself away in Sweden over-seeing tonight's second and final pre-season tour game, it was left to Canary chairman Roger Munby to roll out the welcome mat.

“This is an exciting signing which reflects the ambition of Glenn Roeder and Norwich City Football Club as we approach the start of the new season,” Munby told the club's official website as it broke this evening's transfer news.

The newspaper bible of Italian football was, of course, busily running the story that Lupoli was about to join the Canaries yesterday.

'LUPOLI IN INGHILTERRA: DOMANI FIRMA COL NORWICH,' was the headline in yesterday's La Gazzetta dello Sport which, roughly translated, read: 'Lupoli in England: signs tomorrow for the Norwich'.

Spot on, in fairness, as the club officially announced Roeder's latest eye-catching deal this evening.

For there is clearly a player there – his goal-scoring record under Wenger's charge proves that; equally, the Arsenal boss doesn't pluck any old teenager out of Europe.

Lupoli's remarkable goal-scoring record as a 17-year-old at Parma found him popping up on the Wenger radar; come his switch home on a free transfer to The Viola last summer and he had, by all accounts, the two Milan clubs hot on his heels; in the end, Fiorentina's offer of a five-year contract proved the winner.

Equally, they must still see something in the player given that they have only let him out on loan again for a year.

That said, from a distance Lupoli would appeared to have underwhelmed at Treviso in Serie B last season as his first, year-long loan on his return home failed to produce a single league goal.

At least he should have little difficulty in acclimatising to his English surroundings – three years knocking around North London with David Bentley and Co should have ensured that the Italian Under-21 international is not of the David Strihavka-type.

“I am very happy to be here and hope to contribute to a great season for Norwich City and to be successful,” Lupoli said on the club's official website.

“I spoke to the manager and I really feel that he wants me here,” he added.

“I know alot about Norwich City – I was with Arsenal when they and my team-mate David Bentley were in the Premier League and have followed their progress.”

Not too closely, one would hope.

Either way, Lupoli is certainly one from way out of the left-field as far as the rest of the Championship are concerned; his arrival may also have an impact on Norwich's reported chase for Coventry's Michael Mifsud – the latter might now need some persuading that he can be the main man at Carrow Road after being eased out of the picture this summer at the Ricoh.

As for Lupoli, Roeder has clearly been working his continental connections hard to pull this one out of the bag – he will have had the full personality run-down from his long-time pal Wenger.

The Gunners chief has clearly let by-gones be by-gones after Lupoli opted not to sign a new deal with Arsenal in February, 2007 – deciding instead to leave for a free in the summer and find the highest-bidder for his services back home.

Cue Fiorentina's summer move and a big smile on his agents' faces – only for it all to go a bit flat on the then 20-year-old as coach Cesare Prandelli partnered veteran striker Christian Vieri with ex-Chelsea bad-boy Adrian Mutu up front.

Lupoli has since suggested that leaving England was a mistake and may – ideally – be looking to make up for lost time in the wide, open spaces of the Championship.

Fly and it would come as little surprise to see Wenger making a new move to re-sign his one-time top teenage prospect.

Given that he is left-sided and Norwich's biggest creative threat is likely to come off that flank – or wherever else Wes Hoolahan roams – Roeder's 2008-2009 jigsaw is starting to fit together quite nicely. Particularly if Roeder – as expected – can slip Kieran Gibbs back into his thinking now that the Arsenal teenager's European Under-19 Championship campaign is over.

The biggest missing piece from Roeder's plans remains exactly that – a good, old-fashioned target man in the Dion Dublin mould.

For whatever else Lupoli might be about to bring to the party, it is not height. Nor does Jamie Cureton; nor does reported target Mifsud.

The City chief will be all too well aware that in the over-physical, back alleys of the Championship that lack of a big, physical presence up front could yet cost him dear – all of which would point to the Canaries re-doubling their efforts to sign someone of Shola Ameobi's ilk before the season starts.

Indeed, they could still aim to sign Shola Ameobi himself given how far out in the cold he remains at St James' Park.

He, like one or two others, could yet be raising an eye-brow in Norfolk's direction as Dejan Stefanovic signs in at one end of the team, Arturo Lupoli at the other.


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