Norwich City: Analysis of Onel Hernandez during Millwall win

David Wagner’s arrival at Norwich City has had an almost transformational effect on the Cuban international who is currently in the midst of a real purple patch.  

From having the role as a 'finisher' from the bench, Hernandez has now been cast in a leading role under the German’s vision, playing a major part again as they beat play-off rivals Millwall 3-2 at the Den to move inside the top six for the first time since December.  

It was a performance that contained character and grit, with Norwich coming from behind to beat a team in the top ten for the first time since a 1-0 victory over Sunderland in August.  

Since Wagner was handed the reigns at City, Hernandez has started eight of his opening nine Championship games in charge – double the amount he mustered under Dean Smith in the first half of the campaign.  

Perhaps the most impressive metrics surround his increase in output.  

In those eight starts, Hernandez has scored once and now has five assists to his name. Only Teemu Pukki has more than the 30-year-old for Norwich this season. 

That uplift in productivity is at the core of why Wagner rates him so highly. The confidence he has bestowed in him is evident in the way Hernandez is currently performing.  

Few Norwich players have displayed as much improvement as Hernandez since Wagner’s arrival. City’s boss quickly realised that his skillset – namely pace and power – would give his side another dimension in attacking situations.  

Hernandez was also a one-time target for Wagner at Huddersfield, meaning he was one of the few players that the German had a pre-judgement about prior to accepting the City role. 

Onel Hernandez recorded two assists at the Den. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Wagner has preferred to invert his attacking midfielders since he arrived at Norwich, but Hernandez has been afforded a more conventional wide role in recent weeks. That is partly down to the role of Max Aarons, who drifts centrally at points to create overloads and is happy to underlap.  

That combination is providing various lines of attack – but Hernandez’ qualities persistently cause Championship defenders problems.

Against Millwall, both Hernandez' ball-carrying abilities and Adam Idah's physicality helped get Norwich up the pitch throughout the contest.  

His drive to beat Murray Wallace before cutting the ball back to Gabriel Sara for the third goal was superb. His clever movement to shake the attentions of George Honeyman before crossing ahead of Tom Bradshaw’s own goal cunning.  

After being replaced by Marquinhos on the 87th minute, he puffed out his cheeks, smiled, and embraced Wagner. It was a proper shift from a player reaping the rewards for his tireless work in recent weeks.  

Given the major stick that has been used to beat him with has surrounded his end product and decision-making in the final third, this current form has proved to everyone that he is capable of being a real creative presence for City.  

That has become somewhat of a popular myth given no player has created more shot-creating actions per match for City than Hernandez this season. In fact, he averages just under five per match. The data, therefore, suggests that any uplift in productivity was linked to how successful Norwich were in taking those chances.  

Wagner seems to have embraced the enigma and relished the challenge of extracting more out of Hernandez – the Cuban deserves credit for the way he has embraced the tactical changes that City’s boss and his staff have introduced.  

The next question, and challenge, will be to prove that this can be more than just a fine run of form and something more sustained. The framework is certainly in place to allow that to be the case.  

Wagner does think there is more improvement from him to come around his work against the ball and defensive positioning – but that will come with more time spent on the training ground.  

From looking likely to depart Norfolk this summer, Hernandez now looks nailed on for a new deal and is playing like a man possessed to ensure it is put in front of him before May.  

Whether this campaign concludes with a Premier League return or another Championship assault, Hernandez is somebody his teammates would want alongside them in the trenches. His character, relentless will to take on his man and understanding of the club makes him an asset.  

Onel Hernandez' current contract expires at the end of the season. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

He has proven that he can play a more prominent role than the cheerleader that many have unfairly handed to him throughout this season.  

Ultimately, if Hernandez maintains this level of performance and can keep those numbers around his productivity at their current levels then the debate would be irrelevant – he would be handed a fresh Norwich deal in those circumstances.