Why Patrick Herrmann would be the ideal January business for Norwich
Former coach of Borussia Dortmund’s reserves, Daniel Farke, has played a huge role in transforming Norwich City’s fortunes in the second tier of English football. He struggled to hit the ground running in his first season in charge but the German has really turned things around in his second season at Carrow Road.
Norwich’s attacking and aesthetic brand of football under the stewardship of Farke has taken the Canaries to the top of the Championship standings this season. With 38 goals from 21 games, Norwich have one of the best goalscoring records in the second tier this season, with Aston Villa and West Brom being the only teams to have outscored them.
After playing for a number of lower division clubs in Germany, Farke spent his early managerial days in the second tier of German football with Dortmund’s reserves. It is largely down to his efforts that the Canaries boast of some high-profile German footballers in their squad.
The likes of Marco Stiepermann, Moritz Leitner, Onel Hernandez, Christoph Zimmermann and Tom Trybull have taken Norwich to a new level and the Canaries should bank on Farke’s links to make an audacious swoop for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Patrick Herrmann.
An product of the Monchengladbach academy, Patrick Herrmann has been a seasoned campaigner for his boyhood club in the Bundesliga. Essentially a right-winger by trade, Herrmann has had a successful career in the German top-flight so far, accumulating 44 goals and 47 assists from 280 appearances for Monchengladbach across all competitions.
The 27-year-old German is a fast, agile and tactically versatile attacker who can play down either flank and also through the centre as a playmaker. Hence, his versatility would be a huge asset to Farke’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Herrmann likes to use his pace and skills down the wide areas to wreak havoc on the opposition’s defence and also has a good eye for a pass. He is not only a creative playmaker from the wide areas but he also tends to drift to the central areas, allowing the full-backs to make overlapping runs to support the attack.
Furthermore, he is known for his tactical awareness and composure in the final third and his ability to play as a supporting striker can prove to be a huge asset to a team like Norwich City.
Although the likes of Jordan Rhodes, Onel Hernandez and Marco Stiepermann have chipped in with valuable goals and assists, Norwich have relied heavily on Teemu Pukki to find the net on a regular basis.
The Finnish international has risen to the occasion this term, accumulating 12 goals and 2 assists and has spearheaded the attack very effectively. However, their overreliance on Pukki can prove to be a major roadblock to their chances of securing automatic promotion should the talisman be sidelined with an injury later in the season.
That said, the Canaries should start pursuing an interest in the versatile German attacker ahead of the mid-season trading period as he has all the experience in the world to help them secure a promotion to the Premier League.