Norwich City have confirmed they have reached an agreement to sign Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
The 24-year-old, who has a single cap for the Holland international side, started his career with Vitesse Arnhem, but it was his two-year spell at FC Utrecht which saw him rise to prominence. During his time at the Stadion Galgenwaard, he scored 26 goals in 64 league appearances.
This led to a €5.4million move to Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2011, and he has continued to find the back of the net. Although he has only scored eight league goals this season as the Portuguese side sit in the bottom half of the table, his overall tally since moving to the Estadio Jose Alvalade stands 29 goals from 67 appearances in all competitions.
Norwich have now confirmed that have agreed an undisclosed fee for the signing of van Wolfswinkel when the transfer window reopens in the summer, with the player agreeing a four-year contract at Carrow Road. Speaking to the official club website, Canaries boss Chris Hughton believes the striker is the perfect addition to his current squad.
“Ricky’s profile is a perfect fit for us – he’s young, ambitious and a proven goalscorer,” he said. “He has an excellent goalscoring pedigree and he’s a young man very keen to continue his personal progression and to play in England and the Premier League.
“He’s already an exciting talent but he still has more development as a player ahead of him. I’m delighted we’ve been able to agree a deal with Sporting Lisbon and with Ricky and we look forward to welcoming him to the squad in July, once all of the paperwork gets sorted out.”
Van Wolfswinkel has in the past been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United, so it is quite a feat for Norwich to have sealed his signature. Only bottom club Queens Park Rangers (26), and Stoke City (27) have scored less than their 27 tally in the Premier League this season, so it is clear that a new striker would have been at the top of Hughton’s list of summer priorities.
