Goran Maric's hopes of earning a full-time deal in Norfolk grew again overnight as the 25-year-old Serb grabbed the only goal in City's latest 1-0 tour win.
And as Bryan Gunn's quest to secure the services of a big, physical No9 continues, so the Canary chief admitted after yesterday's narrow victory over Scottish Premier League outfit St Johnstone that he liked what he saw in the one-time Celta Vigo star.
“He's a very physical player – as we saw on a number of occasions,” the City boss told BBC Radio Norfolk afterwards.
“And he creates chances – he would be suited to playing League One, I'm sure. But that's something that we'll sit down and talk about.”
Filling the No9 berth, as ever, remains the Canaries' biggest headache. Particularly whilst the expected exits of Messrs Clingan and Russell continue to stall. Without the financial certainty that the pair's disappearance would bring to the manager's financial calculations, so the prospect of bolting a free agent onto the front of his side grows ever more attractive.
With ex-City UEFA Cup star Ian Culverhouse insisting that Colchester United's Clive Platt is going nowhere this summer and with 23-year-old Rams forward Liam Dickinson having already made his switch to Brighton, so the list of Gunn's possible targets has started to slim.
Maric – at six-foot and a bit – at least has the physical build required to compete effectively in that position. And all, seemingly, with the aggressive mentality to match – a combative trait that was so obviously lacking in Norwich's last foray into the foreign striker market in the shape of David Strihavka.
The Czech six-footer was the proverbial lamb in wolf's clothing when he actually found himself away at Burnley on a dank Tuesday night; given League One is likely to prove equally demanding on that front, Gunn cannot afford to find himself with anyone of similar lily liver.
That he is tempted to give Maric a gig is clear.
“He's doing the right things,” he told BBC Radio Norfolk.
“That's the important thing. He's come here with us and he obviously knows a little bit about the club. And on the pitch he's putting in the performances that make him tempting.”
The Canaries have one more game in their week-long tour of Scotland when they travel to Airdrie on Saturday. At which point Maric will be given another chance to shine.
“We'll hopefully see him in action again against Airdrie and we'll see what happens after that.”
Of Gunn's four, full-time summer signings – a fifth promises to hove into view as and when winger Simon Waley finalises his personal terms – it is only Australian keeper Michael Theoklitos who has yet to make an appearance.
Gunn suggested that it would take a while for the 28-year-old ex-Melbourne Victory No1 to find his feet in England; whether he will make his pre-season debut tomorrow against Airdrie is one question; another is whether Gunn will have decided as to who his skipper is for the forthcoming season with Gary Doherty, Michael Nelson and Matt Gill all seemingly in the running for the armband.
In Theoklitos' on-going absence, teenage keeper Declan Rudd has been having the time of his professional life as he steps up into the ranks of men's football.
In goal against Dartford on Saturday, he had another 90 minutes yesterday – and all with a clean sheet to his name, too.
“Playing against full-grown men which is obviously new to me is brilliant,” said the England Under-19 prospect. “The tempo and the physical needs of the game is completely different.
“So it's good experience playing up here and playing with the lads for the first time.”
Given the confident manner in which Rudd went about his FA Youth Cup business last season, ordering Doherty this way and that doesn't appear to be a problem either.
“Once you get into the game, you get into the game mode and you don't really think who people are – they're your team-mates at the end of the day. I've got to do my job; he's got to do his job,” he told reporters.
“And we can help eachother by telling eachother things that will make us better. So Doc [Doherty] doesn't mind if I say something to him and I don't mind if he says somethign to me – as well as the rest of the lads.
“We all give our opinions to eachother and everything is taken on board.”
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