Norwich City: Comparing van Hooijdonk's stats to Sargent, Idah and Barnes | OneFootball

Highlights

Norwich City look set to make their first signing of the January window in the shape of Bologna striker Sydney van Hooijdonk.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Canaries have won the race for the loan signing of the 23-year-old, with Scottish champions Celtic also interested in signing the Dutch forward.

It's a much-needed boost for David Wagner's side, who were short of options up front, despite having signed Ashley Barnes and Hwang Ui-jo during the summer window.

And with the Daily Record reporting that Adam Idah is set to finalise a deal with Celtic before Thursday's deadline, it was imperative that Norwich had a replacement ready to ensure their play-off ambitions do not suffer.

Sydney Van Hooijdonk's 2023/24 season so far

It's proved a slightly difficult season for van Hooijdonk in Italy, with the striker scoring just once in 11 appearances for the Serie A side.

His only goal this season came during a Coppa Italia tie with Hellas Verona, as the striker has struggled for regular minutes in the league.

In total, van Hooijdonk has played just 207 minutes of league football, starting just twice and failing to find the back of the net. So is he what Norwich City need?

When comparing the Dutchman's statistics to the strikers available to Wanger, the 23-year-old significantly underperforms against all the other striking options - albeit playing significantly fewer number of minutes.

Despite not having the best of times in Italy, van Hooijdonk has proven himself to be a prolific goalscorer in the Netherlands, scoring 49 times in 124 appearances for Heerenveen and NAC Breda.

In fact, his career stats tell a very different story to his numbers for 2023/24. Of the Canaries' current striking options, only Barnes, who has played nearly 300 more games, has more career goals than the January target.

93 goal contributions in 182 appearances means he's adding either a goal or an assist at a rate close to once in every two games, which is a better ratio than Barnes, Idah, or Sargent.

It's a low-risk move for the Canaries. If van Hooijdonk struggles, then they can write it off as a failed loan move. If he thrives at Carrow Road, they can make the deal permanent. It looks like smart business from David Wagner's side and, at 23 years old, van Hooijdonk has plenty of room to grow as a player.

From Wagner's first spell in England with Huddersfield Town back in 2015 up until now, the German has always adopted a similar philosophy in terms of personnel and tactics.

His preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 relies heavily on service from the wide areas and into a tall, strong centre-forward.

During his time in the Premier League with the Terriers, he often swapped between Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre, both over six feet and supplied by the wingers, who at the time were Rajiv van La Parra and Tom Ince.

The pair scored 13 goals between them as Huddersfield stayed in the Premier League, and Wagner has a similar set-up at Carrow Road - something van Hooijdonk fits into perfectly.

The 23-year-old stands at six foot two, can hold the ball up well and bring others around him into play. All of Norwich's other striking options are no smaller than six foot one, showing Wagner has a clear vision of how he wants to play.

And there is also creativity from the wide positions, with Jonathan Rowe and Onel Hernandez providing six assists between them this season.

There has also been extra input from the central positions - Gabriel Sara and Kenny McClean have chipped in with some important goal contributions so far this season.

While van Hooijdonk's statistics prove he may not be better than the options already at Wagner's disposal, he has proved he can perform in one of the toughest leagues in Europe. If he is able to replicate that for the remainder of the season at Carrow Road, the Canaries may be soaring back into the Premier League.