Norwich City Football: Grading the Canaries' Transfers in the Summer Window

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The transfer window is now closed, so it is time to rate the ins and outs of the summer window. This will be done simply with a numbered list starting from the bottom. However, I will focus on first team players, and those that have not left for the full season will not be included.

Therefore, George Francomb and Tom Adeyemi will not be in this list, because they left on shorter term loan deals.

Outs: 6 Aaron Wilbraham (released)

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Aaron Wilbraham has always worked hard for Norwich City and has done well for the team given his limited abilities. But he always looked like a lower league striker who got an unexpected shot in the Premier League.

Therefore, I feel that Wilbraham will be the player who the club will miss the least, and the club will have plenty of attacking options even after letting him go. I feel the decision to release Wilbraham was absolutely the right one.

Outs: 5 Andrew Crofts (sold to Brighton)

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Andrew Crofts might be a Welsh international, and he was superb in the Championship for Norwich, but I always felt that the Premier League was a step too far for him. He now has a number of midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order and would have found it hard to get games in the Premier League.

Therefore, I think that the move to Brighton for more regular games was a sensible career move. He is not the worst player in the world, but the Championship is more at his level.

Outs: 4 Adam Drury (signed Contract with Leeds United)

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Adam Drury showed, towards the end of last season, that he still has plenty of ability. But he is now 34 years old, and it was the right time for him to end his Norwich City career. I think that he must of realized that he would have only played occasionally this season, so he went in search of regular games.

I do hope that we will see Drury back at Carrow Road in some sort of role in the near future, because as professionals go, there are few better. But I understand why he made the decision to sign a contract with Leeds United.

Outs: 3 Daniel Ayala (loaned to Nottingham Forrest)

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I like Daniel Ayala a lot and hope that he does have a future at Carrow Road. The decision to loan him out came as a surprise, because I excepted him to be a regular on the side. But I think it is simply the case of a player needing more experience.

Chris Hughton, who has since moved to sign experienced defenders, backs that theory up. So, we all hope that Ayala will play lots of games in the Championship and then come back raring to go for Norwich City next season. 

Outs: 2 Zak Whitbread (released)

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The decision to release Zak Whitbread from his contract in the summer came as a massive surprise to me, because I thought that he looked solid in the Premier League. Nevertheless, I now think that we have better central defenders.

Zak has since signed for Leicester City, and he will be a real asset to them.

Outs: 1 James Vaughan (loaned to Huddersfield Town)

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We all know about James Vaughan's injury problems, but after a good preseason, we were all looking forward to seeing him in the Premier League—especially given that he is a striker with pace, which is a rare commodity. In this respect, Norwich City are overly reliant on Simeon Jackson.

Of all the players that have left Norwich during the summer, I am the most disappointed about Vaughan. But hopefully he can score some goals in the Championship and return to Norwich next season. He will certainly be one of the better strikers in that league for Huddersfield this season during his loan spell.

Ins: 9 Mark Bunn (signed from Blackburn Rovers)

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It remains to be seen how often Norwich fans will get to see Mark Bunn play. I think that most fans expect him to back up John Ruddy, but it will be up to Ruddy to play well enough to keep Bunn out of the side.

The biggest impact that Bunn may have could be to allow Norwich City's younger goalkeepers out on loan. Therefore, the signing could prove to be very important, but I'm sure that he has really come here to play games. So, it will be interesting to see if that happens. Bunn has arrived from Blackburn on a two-year contract. 

Ins: 8 Steven Whittaker (Signed from Rangers)

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It is, perhaps, a bit unfair, to judge the new signing from Rangers before he has kicked a ball in anger. But with the way that Russell Martin has been playing, he may not be the vital signing that was expected some weeks ago. But a fit Whittaker will be keen to show what he can do in the Premier League.

Ins: 7 Michael Turner (signed from Sunderland)

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When Norwich confirmed the signing of Michael Turner, I expected him to be a very important part of the defense. So, it was no surprise to see him in the club's first game of the season. But he didn't exactly cover himself in glory.

Now that Sebastien Bassong and Leon Barnett are ahead of him in the team, it will be interesting to see how long it will be before he gets another chance.

Ins: 6 Alexander Tettey (signed from Rennes)

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Norwich City fans are getting very excited about the signing of Tettey. But I think it's best to wait until we see him on pitch before we fully judge our new signing. It is also important to remember that he may take some time to settle into the pace of the Premier League.

But based on the current form of Bradley Johnson, he faced a major task to get into the Norwich City team in the first place.

Ins: 5 Jacob Butterfield (signed from Barnsley)

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I have to admit that I am in the dark over the signing of Butterfield. But people that know about this sort of thing believe him to be a top talent.  I feel like he is seen as the long-term successor to Wes Hoolahan.

I think it is a curious signing by Chris Hughton, because he doesn't seem like the sort of player that would fit into a standard 4-4-2 system. So, maybe the manager has some sort of special system designed to get the best out of him.

It is important for fans to remember that he has recently recovered from a serious injury and should not to expect too much from him too soon.

Ins: 4 Harry Kane (loaned from Spurs)

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Harry Kane was a bit late and an unexpected transfer when he was signed on loan from Spurs. The importance of the signing depends on how well the other strikers perform during the season, but if they misfire then Kane could be vital.

Ins: 3 Sebastien Bassong (signed from Spurs)

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This signing really excited me when I heard about it, and I was instantly convinced that Bassong would be a very good player for us after he was signed from Spurs. The early signs have been good, and Bassong seems to be building a very solid central defensive partnership with Leon Barnett.

Ins: 2 Javier Garrido (loan from Lazio)

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I always felt that Garrido was a fairly safe piece of business, given his prior Premier League experience with Manchester City. And he hasn't disappointed; so far he has looked superb. Hopes are certainly high that Norwich can enjoy a far better defensive record than they did last season. 

Ins: 1 Robert Snograss (signed from Leeds United)

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Norwich City had been after Robert Snodgrass for some time, so it didn't come as a massive surprise when he finally arrived at Carrow Road in the summer.

So far, he is the signing that I have been most impressed with. In his superb performance against Spurs, he deserved more than just a goal. If he can keep scoring and setting up goals then Norwich City will enjoy themselves in the Premier League this season.

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