Paddy Davitt: A window to end all windows

Ozan Kabak’s arrival from Schalke, to solve a thorny central defensive issue which formed the backdrop to most of this epic trading pattern, has completed the set.

The window officially closes at 11pm on Tuesday but you could forgive Stuart Webber if the out-of-office has already been flicked on and the phone thrown in the river Wensum that runs behind Carrow Road.

That’s all, folks.

Remarkably there were some Norwich fans beginning to shift uneasily at what they perceived was a relatively serene start to this blitz. Milot Rashica was unveiled on June 22, a good six weeks after, give or take, Grant Hanley and Alex Tettey had lifted the Championship trophy aloft at Barnsley.

The delayed Euros would have been a hindrance but on the evidence of the onslaught since you can be sure Norwich were using that time wisely.

Daniel Farke publicly revealed on more than one occasion what was privately always understood that the groundwork for a number of City’s summer deals was painstaking and ran into weeks not hours or days.

Farke himself had a hands on role throughout but it is Webber who will be lauded for not only the volume of inward business but the drive to thin out a squad where Farke’s resource is in the main now Premier League-grade rather than top flight-lite.

Quality over quantity was Webber’s mantra, but that sells a lie to the options now at his head coach’s disposal.

Kabak added to a central defensive unit that comprises Hanley, Ben Gibson, Christoph Zimmermann and Andrew Omobamidele affords Farke the chance of real tactical flexibility to his base formation he could only dream about two seasons ago.

Brandon Williams’ loan arrival, and Dimitris Giannoulis’ permanent move, bring much-needed competition down the flanks, and the fresh signing of Mathias Normann warranted white smoke billowing from a vent in the City Stand after the prolonged quest to find a defensive midfield replacement for Olly Skipp.

Judgement in all those cases, and the attacking battalion added to ease some of the burden on Teemu Pukki, must be reserved.

There is still in many cases adaptation to new surroundings and the unforgiving environment that is the Premier League to stress-test how good this summer window will prove for Norwich.

Milot Rashica was Norwich City first senior signing of a hectic summer (Image: Focus Images Limited)

It is not how sharp each new recruit looks holding up the green and yellow shirt, it is how many points and positions up the table that translates to over these coming weeks.

But to apply Webber’s own measure of what would constitute a good window for Norwich, when he assessed the challenge ahead, there is no dispute he has delivered.

“Are we going to be signing a £30m striker? Definitely, definitely not,” he said, exactly a week after a second Championship title had been deposited in the trophy cabinet. “But will we spend more money? Yes. Will we potentially look to generate some more as well? Well, yes.

"The fact is we have to improve, we have to bring in players who can impact it from day one.

"That doesn't necessarily mean a group of 28-year-olds, but certainly it's got to be players who we think can improve our starting XI and give Daniel some really nice problems.

“The success of a window has to be determined at the end, when you look at your squad and starting XI, and you feel that's better than where we started. Last time in the Premier League it was not.

"The facts were there. I think it was only Sam Byram who ended up breaking into the team and becoming a regular. I think we're going in with more resources this time, but it's still more resources by our standards, as opposed to by others.”

Farke understood the scale of this turnover, and the financial landscape inhabited by the only self-funded Premier League club, meant an Emi Buendia-level departure was inevitable.

But keeping a Todd Cantwell and a Max Aarons in the building, along with all the new faces, leaves City in credit.

No doubt the head coach would have loved all his signings in situ before Liverpool but that failed to grasp City’s approach this time around was a game of patience rather than fast food consumption.

Moving rapidly down their target list was seen as one of the major faults committed by Webber and his recruitment strategists two summers ago. So much so it prompted a mid-season ‘mea culpa’ from the sporting director that he left Farke unarmed and exposed.

Not this time around.

City still have to buck the odds, but they are no longer the rank outsiders making up the numbers. They expect better and so too do Norwich City fans after this summer window.