He had to give up on his Premier League dream and make the move to Russia almost three years ago but now Mathias Normann is heading back to the English top flight with Norwich City.
It was Chris Hughton - the manager that brought Alex Tettey to Norwich - who took Normann to Brighton and hailed him as a “talented and versatile young player” in the summer of 2017.
As recently as December 2018, the midfielder was playing for Brighton Under-23s as a regular starter in Premier League Two, starting EFL Trophy group stage games at Peterborough and MK Dons during the first half of 2018-19.
His exit for FC Rostov in January 2019 will barely have been noticed by many Seagulls supporters but Normann joins City on loan with the potential for a big fee having earned international recognition – and having made an impact for Norway too.
He emerged from the youth system at FK Bodo-Glimt, with his breakthrough coming during the 2016 campaign, with three goals and five assists from 33 games, playing an important role in a surge to the semi-finals of the Norwegian Cup but also experiencing the pain of relegation to the second tier.
Bodo-Glimt would bounce back as champions but Normann would make just eight appearances before Brighton made their move, only to send him back to the Norwegian top flight on loan.
He joined Molde in August 2017, managed at the time by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, prior to his return to Manchester United as manager the following year.
Seven appearances before the end of the campaign, including another taste of semi-final defeat in the Norwegian Cup, saw that loan continued for the 2018 season, when a goal and three assists continued his development.
Normann wanted to try and force his way in at Brighton though and got stuck into U23s action, contributing to a strong first half of the 2018-19 season when the young Seagulls beat teams including Manchester City and Chelsea.
He was soon on the move again though. Rostov’s scouts had identified Normann's strong but progressive style as being a good fit for their midfield needs and made Brighton an offer for a player yet to get close to their first team.
In the western Russian state of Rostov Oblast, bordered by Ukraine and Georgia, the Muzhiki had played in the Champions League in 2016-17 after finishing as runners-up. It seemed a new force in Russian football had emerged but finishing fifth and 12th meant Normann was arriving at a club looking to regain forward momentum.
He swiftly became a regular starter as a deep-lying midfielder, with three assists in 11 matches, as Rostov finished ninth and lost in the Russian Cup semi-finals.
That emergence earned Normann his first senior Norway call-up in 2019, coming off the bench and setting up an equaliser as a late substitute during a Euro 2020 qualifier in Romania, in just his second appearance.
Ultimately, the Norwegians had to go through the play-offs and hosted Serbia in the semi-finals but when trailing 1-0 with the game almost over it wasn’t Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland or Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard to the rescue – it was Normann.
After coming on as a half-time substitute, the midfielder squeezed past two defenders and smashed a low shot from the edge of the area that found the bottom-left corner. His joy would prove short-lived however, with Serbia finding a winner in extra-time.
Illness and minor injuries have prevented him from racking up more than seven caps so far, being an unused substitute for friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece this summer.
Yet he finally got his career going with Rostov during the past two seasons, with eight assists and two goals in total from 56 matches, with a Europa League qualifier lost 2-1 at home to Maccabi Haifa at the start of last season.
However, reports arrived ahead of the January transfer window suggesting Normann was restless, with Burnley, Southampton and Fulham credited with interest.
Newcastle were linked with interest alongside Norwich recently but he had started Rostov’s last four matches, including 86 minutes of a 1-1 draw at Ural Yekaterinburg on Friday.
Standing at close to six-feet tall, a quick look at Normann’s Instagram profile provides the evidence of a player that works hard in the gym, showing off a ripped torso.
His account also features a video of him taking his mother, blindfolded, to a surprise present of a brand-new Audi, thanking her for being his “biggest support”, as well as a fond farewell to Rostov boss Valery Karpin for the “special bond” they shared as the coach took the Russia job full-time earlier this month.
Stats website WhoScored.com rated Normann the 50th best player in the Russian Premier Liga last season, with an average statistical rating of 6.92 across his 15 league appearances, accumulating six yellow cards and with a pass success rate of 74.9pc.
As Norwich fans will recognise from the days of Tettey and Oliver Skipp, defensive midfielders don’t necessarily catch the eye on the stats front, with much of their better work often being in positional nous and unselfish work.
Per game last season, Normann averaged 46 passes, 2 successful aerial duels, 1.5 shots, 1.7 tackles, 1.5 fouls and 1.5 interceptions.
In comparison to Skipp’s season in the Championship, the Tottenham loanee averaged a much higher 88pc pass success rate and 56 passes per game and attempted far fewer shots (0.2 per game).
The remaining stats are in a similar region though, with Skipp averaging 1.4 aerials won, 2.2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.1 fouls.
The youngster’s emergence at Spurs has left a significant hole in the Canaries’ midfield though.
Normann will finally get his Premier League opportunity but the top tiers in Russia and Norway do not compare to the intensity and quality of the Premier League and his record suggests a more adventurous style.
At 25 years old, his development is far from finished yet, with the raw materials potentially available for Daniel Farke to shape Normann into the player City so clearly need to provide more protection for the back line.
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