BOTTOM of the Premier League and seven points off safety, it seems certain the Canaries are heading down the coalmine of relegation.
But that hasn’t stopped one of Norwich’s most impressive players catching the eye of two of England’s biggest clubs.
Todd Cantwell’s performances for Norwich this season has attracted interest from Manchester United and LiverpoolCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Champions-elect Liverpool and mega-rich Manchester United have both been keeping tabs on Norwich winger Todd Cantwell.
But Norwich have the joint-second-lowest goal tally in the Premier League, so why would he interest them?
Well, there is the obvious point – that if the Canaries do go down, then their players are likely to go for a song.
But more than that is how, despite Norwich being so bad in front of goal generally, Cantwell’s goalscoring record stands up very well indeed.
Added to the goals he gets for himself, Cantwell creates chances. His ability to draw fouls in the final third is very effective — double the average for Premier League midfielders.
Only Harry Wilson and Dele Alli have scored more from midfield than the Norwich star
Midlands pair Jack Grealish and James Maddison are the most fouled midfielders in the Prem
That would be a useful tool for a side capable of making the most of set pieces. Sadly for Daniel Farke, though, that’s not Norwich.
Their 13 crosses per game is by far the lowest number in the Premier League, and it reflects just how bad the Canaries are in the air.
Farke clearly realises there’s no point even trying to cross it in for Teemu Pukki when he’s won only three of 34 headers he’s contested.
But for sides boasting powerful headers of the ball, like Manchester United’s Harry Maguire or Liverpool centre-half Virgil van Dijk, that would be a big boost.
Cantwell is also an efficient finisher. Despite eight of his 36 shots coming from outside of the 18-yard box, the once-capped England Under-21 international has a good record of hitting the target.
And he’s not too shabby at beating the keeper, either.
Cantwell boats an impressive shot accuracy of 44.4 per cent
The England U21 player bags around one in six of his efforts
Although Cantwell’s goals-to-shots ratio is just outside the top ten for Premier League midfield regulars, it’s very strong in comparison to lots of strikers’.
There are 33 Premier League forwards with a worse chance-conversion rate than Cantwell this season. In fact, even his own side’s centre-forward, Pukki, can only match Cantwell’s 16.7 per cent.
What’s very interesting is not just how Cantwell’s goals return is not far behind Dele Alli’s, but also that his shot map – the positions he shoots from – is almost identical to the Spurs star’s too.
Both have two goals from inside the six-yard box this season and both tend to cluster their shots from around the penalty box and inside the D.
This suggests Cantwell’s positional sense is as strong as the senior England international’s, and that he could play closer to the striker than he does for Norwich.
In fact, his shot map is far more similar to Sadio Mane’s or Anthony Martial’s – forwards with 21 goals between them this season – than it is like midfielders like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Andreas Pereira’s.
Their efforts on goal have tended to come from deeper, since they aren’t making as many successful runs into the box.
An English midfield player with a sniffer’s instinct who’ll win free-kicks in dangerous areas?
That’s why United and Liverpool will be rattling the Canaries’ cage for Cantwell this summer.
And all the better if they go down – because Cantwell will likely go cheep.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
