Norwich City's head of recruitment Kieran Scott feels their January transfer window business shows the club can navigate even some of the most complex markets with success.
The Canaries made three additions to their group during the winter window, including the signing of left-back Dimitris Giannoulis.
Replacing Jamal Lewis has been a difficult task for the club, but Scott is hopeful that the 11-time Greece international will prove his worth to the side as he continues to adapt to English football.
Not only have Norwich been forced to navigate a transfer window through a global pandemic, but also with the additional complexities served up by a new set of Brexit regulations, with Giannoulis scraping through with the minimum required 15 points.
"I think we would have probably struggled to get Dimitris if we weren’t where we are, it is obviously on record at a lot of places the level of interest that he has had over the last two seasons, he has been very close to joining some massive clubs in Serie A but his club decided to block it off and we are very lucky to have him.
"He has obviously now got to adapt to the level and pace which I am sure that he will in the next couple of games once he gets going I am sure he will be good as gold but I am pretty confident that he wouldn’t be here if we were let’s say 10th.
"He is really exciting because the left-back position has been a position that we have sort of struggled to fill because we had Jamal Lewis and it wouldn’t have mattered who we sign because Jamal was always going to play, he was our boy, he had come from the academy and performed really well.
"I think potentially we have got two in Quintillà and Giannoulis who can fight it out now between them and I think that they are both potentially Premier League left-backs in their own way so yes, it has been good to get the pair in but it has been difficult to find them."
The other senior signing was former Aston Villa keeper Orjan Nyland, who signed for City on a free transfer as they bolstered their shot-stopping department after Michael McGovern's hamstring injury in December.
Scott admits recruiting for a second-choice goalkeeper has been challenging due to Tim Krul's quality and standing in the group.
"I would say it’s been impossible because we’ve signed a really high-level goalkeeper.
"We felt that with Nyland that he’s good enough to play, he’s played in the Premier League so that was tick number one but then we needed a goalkeeper that was willing to work his way in but also have the personality to deal with the fact that Tim’s here.
"We feel that we’ve got the right goalkeeper for all those areas that needed to be ticked.
"He’s a good goalkeeper, his feet are about as good as it gets which is something you have to have to play for us because we all know. He’ll give Tim a push but in a right way which is always a good thing."
The Canaries' self-sustainable model requires them to scout prospective talents from lower grade academies that could develop into first-team stars at Carrow Road or make the club some profit.
Their record of progressing young players through the ranks has given a boost over their competition, even though they can't match the finances of the 'bigger clubs'. Bolton youngster Regan Riley signed for City on deadline day, turning down moves to West Ham and Brighton in the process.
Scott details how Bolton aided the transfer and admitted it was a difficult deal to get done because of the restrictions preventing travel across the country.
"We had a good relationship with Bolton and the guys up there and they helped us with Regan. We’d watched him as best as we could watch him. It’s difficult to watch young players as you’re not allowed in.
"We’ve managed to get in games, don’t get me wrong, but we saw as much as we could see of him. But Bolton were fair and let him come and have a little period with us where he could come and play," Scott told the All in Yellow podcast.
"He’s a number eight midfield player with good energy, good pace, he’s got a great size and shape and he’s a really good footballer. I'm not going to put any pressure on him, he’s a young boy, with a good future."
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