Bristol City should beat Norwich to sign free agent Jordon Mutch
According to a report from The Sun (h/t Bristol Live), EFL Championship clubs Bristol City and Norwich City are set to battle it out for the signing of midfielder Jordon Mutch.
The 27-year-old was released by Premier League outfit Crystal Palace earlier this month. And his availability as a free agent has sparked a flurry of interest in the English second division, with the Robins and the Canaries joining the hunt for the former England U21 international.
Having come through the youth ranks at Derby County, Mutch started out his senior career at Birmingham City, before going on to spend time with Cardiff City and QPR. The Englishman joined Crystal Palace back in January 2015 but has failed to make much of an impact at Selhurst Park.
Mutch has made just 31 league appearances for the Eagles and last played for the club in 2017. The midfielder spent half a season on loan at Reading where he made 9 appearances scoring one goal. He moved to MLS outfit Vancouver Whitecaps on loan in March last year but made just 17 appearances till the end of the season in December, owing to injury problems.
Mutch might not have played a lot over the past year, but has plenty of experience in England and has been part of promotion-winning teams in the past. Should Bristol City capture the midfielder’s signing or should Norwich do everything possible to beat the Robins to his signing?
Bristol City
A recent run of fine form has seen Lee Johnson’s side make their way to the 7th place in the Championship standings. The Robins find themselves just two points below Derby County, who occupy the final playoff position and will be looking to make further headway in the table in the coming weeks and strengthen their promotion hopes.
Bristol City have a number of options in the midfield department with Marlon Pack, Korey Smith, Josh Brownhill and the young Liam Walsh, while Chelsea midfielder Kasey Palmer has joined on loan earlier this month, to provide cover to Jamie Paterson in the No.10 role.
However, Smith has spent over five months on the sidelines, having picked up a serious injury early in the season and is expected to return sometime next month, while Walsh too has been sidelined with an injury and is out till early February.
Norwich City
The Canaries have emerged as prime candidates for automatic promotion to the Premier League, as they sit in the second spot in the table, with 53 points from 28 matches – just a point shy of leaders Leeds United, although the Whites have a game in hand.
Daniel Farke’s side too are well stocked in the middle of the park with the likes of Moritz Leitner, Alex Tettey, Mario Vrancic, Kenny McLean, Louis Thompson while the likes of Todd Cantwell, Emiliano Buendia and Marco Stiepermann provide the creative threat from the attacking midfield role.
Throw into the mix the presence of Tom Trybull, and the young Ben Godfrey, one would think that Norwich are well covered in the midfield, despite Tettey being sidelined with an injury.
Verdict
Any team challenging for promotion needs quality depth in the squad across the pitch to tough out a long and arduous Championship campaign. And Mutch, despite concerns over his fitness, would provide just that, with his proven pedigree and the know-how of the division, having been part of promotion-winning teams in the past.
Norwich City have a couple of injuries in the midfield department, but seem more than well equipped to deal with the issues at the moment, given the number of options at Farke’s disposal.
While Bristol City also have options in the middle, they could certainly make do with someone with Mutch’s experience, given that the likes of Walsh, Brownhill and Palmer are still young. And that is why the Robins should go all out to try and beat Norwich to the signing of the 27-year-old before the end of the month.
