Todd Cantwell may have provided a man-of-the-match display in the win over Birmingham but the youngster insists he’s still “tuning back in” to his best form following his period out the side.
The 22-year-old marked his return to the City’s starting line-up with an excellent display as Mario Vrancic’s late strike put the seal on a fine night’s work for the Canaries.
Cantwell was left out by head coach Daniel Farke for City’s Championship matches against Bournemouth and Derby as speculation intensified around the playmaker’s future amid talk of a move to Leeds United.
But with the transfer window closing on Friday, Cantwell looked like a weight had been lifted off his young shoulders and he was arguably City’s brightest spark against Aitor Karanka’s side.
Cantwell looked the man most likely to break through a stubborn Birmingham backline although he admitted to being a bit rusty in front of goal.
“I could have been out there all night and I wouldn’t have scored!” he said. “I’m tuning back in - I’ve got to tune back up and get into shape again and get those chances going into the back of the net.”
MORE: Farke hails ‘giant leap forward’ When asked if he felt like his mind felt ‘freer’ in a post-match interview with Sky following the closing of the transfer window, Cantwell replied: “Yes, definitely, It’s exactly that. It’s what’s ahead and the most important thing is getting the results and making sure that we continue to dominate and get back to where we should be.
“I think we dominated and it just felt like it was going to be one of those games where we weren’t going to get the shot off or get the goal.
“You could see how happy we were when it finally went in.”
Farke’s men struggled to convert their dominance of possession into goals but Cantwell believes City are on the right track to launch another assault on promotion.
“Although it’s frustrating we haven’t got the final piece at the moment and that we haven’t managed to score more goals, on another day I think we could have won 5-0, I think we are definitely moving in the right direction,” he added.
“This division isn’t easy and if you don’t take your chances then you could see at the end that they nearly got a goal back. There’s stuff we need to build on but we are definitely moving in the right direction.”
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