“We need a guy like him”

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Norwich City look to be closing in on the signing of Burnley striker Ashley Barnes, with it being reported it could be announced today.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Norwich have won the race for the forward’s signature and are expected to sign Barnes in the next 48 hours on a two-year contract.

The 33-year-old is a free agent this summer after he left Turf Moor on the expiration of his contract, as the club decided against offering him a new deal.

Is Ashley Barnes a good signing for Norwich City?

It is expected to be a busy summer of incomings and outgoings for Norwich this summer after their disappointing campaign in the Championship.

This summer provides manager David Wagner with the first opportunity to make changes to the squad, and it seems he is starting it by adding Barnes.

There were a host of Championship sides interested in signing the 33-year-old, but it now seems as though the Canaries have won the battle.

As we wait to see this transfer be confirmed, we asked FLW;s Norwich City fan pundit Zeke Downes for his thoughts on this deal.

He told FLW: “At first, I wasn’t too enamoured with this move. It seemed to go away from our normal style because obviously we are used to having Pukki up top, we’ve had him for the last five years and he’s quite a technically gifted player, he’s not really going to win you headers, he’s not too strong, he’s not going to be the sort of striker that Ashley Barnes is, in that he’ll probably do-little fouls and make it hard for the opposition in that way.

“But we’ve not had anyone like Ashley Barnes since Grant Holt and I think now I’ve thought about it, I do quite like the idea. We’ve lacked leaders this season and although Ashley Barnes is 34 now which isn’t ideal, we need the leaders ,we need a guy like him to really work hard and be an example to younger players in the squad.

“He’s got experience in this league, he’s got experience winning games in this league and yeah, I think it’s not the worst move as long as we’re not stuck with just him, Sargent, and Idah. I would like Idah to go out on loan, and I’d like to get another striker in just to bolster those options really.”

Would Ashley Barnes improve Norwich’s attack?

There is no doubt that Barnes will offer this current Norwich team something completely different, and you could argue that it is something they have missed.

Barnes is an old-fashioned type of striker, someone who has a presence at the top end of the pitch and will let defenders know that they are in for a game. While off the pitch, as Zeke says, he could be a real leader as he’s been there and done it before.

The 33-year-old showed during this campaign that he can still produce in front of goal if given the chance, and if Norwich can supply the forward, then he is definitely a strong addition. It is likely the Canaries are going to need a bit more, as they can’t be expected to rely on Barnes for the majority of the season.