The new, improved Marcelino Nunez gets David Wagner’s Norwich City vote.
The 23-year-old has started the last two Championship games against Bristol City and Preston in a deeper-lying central midfield role.
Nunez’s ability on the ball and his passing range were never in doubt, but his head coach feels the Chilean international has now addressed the weak spot in his game.
“I think Nacho made a big improvement in the last few months, compared to when I arrived, in terms of how he takes care of the ball,” said Wagner. “There are much less turnovers when he is on the ball, in terms of decision-making, in terms of the passing or even in terms of losing his battles for ball possession.
"Much less turnovers. And this automatically means his performances will improve because he's a good player on the ball, he can make the right decisions. And this was a massive step.
“That he can also run 13kms per game without a problem, and he still looks fresh, this is unbelievable. This is what we need as well in this position.
"But this is the biggest improvement for him, and I think it helps him that he now understands, even if he does not speak a lot of English, but he gets more and more used to the group as well.
"If you know the language a little bit better, and nobody knows it better than I do as a foreigner, it makes his life easier if you can understand. This is no question the case, if we compare him now and 10 months ago.”
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City fired blanks against Preston but Nunez’s creative touch will be key on Wednesday against Sheffield Wednesday back at Carrow Road.
“Nacho played very well. He was crucial for our counter press. He smells danger, he was aggressive and he can cover ground as well,” said Wagner. “When we speak about a lack of creativity (against Preston), I think, it was more in the offensive line, in the one against one movements.
"The harmony of the players in between the lines was not super, but good enough to create two clear-cut chances, and you have to use at least one of them.”
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