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Canaries’ loanee still has a future at Hertha Berlin
Ondrej Duda is still wanted by parent club Hertha Berlin Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Ondrej Duda will get a chance to resurrect his career at Hertha Berlin when his loan move to Norwich City ends.
The Slovakian international was an eye-catching signing in January after falling out of favour with Jurgen Klinsmann. But the former German international’s decision to move back upstairs at the Berliners opened the door to a reprieve.
Duda’s Carrow Road loan stint was due to run until the end of the Premier League season although with football on hold during the global pandemic the issue of player contracts and transfer windows is currently being discussed by Fifa and key stakeholders.
The 25-year-old has yet to score in eight appearances for the Canaries but arrived with a big reputation after an impressive spell in the Bundesliga prior to Klinsmann’s coaching stint.
Hertha look set to unveil Bruno Labbadia as their new head coach in the coming days and sporting director Michael Preetz has told Kicker magazine Duda is part of the plans.
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“Ondrej is a 100 percent part of our plans. He will come back,” he said. “In the winter, he didn’t see any perspective for himself under the coach we had at the time. But he always wanted to play for Hertha. He did not feel like he would get the game time here. He showed how much he can help a team.”
City head coach Daniel Farke made it clear what a coup he felt it was to entice Duda to England.
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“Of course it is a bit more tricky to get him in January when he is not so much in his rhythm and no one can predict if this works out on a world class level,” he said, at the time of his signing. “If you want a guarantee then you have to go and get someone like James Maddison, who plays every game, who knows the league, but you probably have to pay £80m.
“We have to be creative, we have to take more risk and with our financial opportunities it’s a perfect fit.
“We can’t spend millions.
“He has the potential and if it works out, great, but if not we don’t risk the future of the club with a stupid deal. It is a good deal from the business side.”