Home » Football » EFL Championship » Norwich City » Norwich signing this 30-year-old veteran star for free would be a brilliant coup

Why Norwich City should sign Orjan Nyland on a free transfer

According to The Pink’Un, Norwich City are interested in signing former Aston Villa shot-stopper Orjan Nyland but face competition from a number of Championship clubs in their pursuit of the Norwegian.

The 30-year-old is currently a free agent in the market after terminating his contract at Villa Park by mutual consent back in October. As per the report, Canaries boss Daniel Farke has confirmed that his side are in the market for an experienced goalkeeper this month and Nyland certainly fits the bill.

Profile

Nyland started his career with Hodd in the Norwegian second-tier before rising to prominence with Molde in the top-flight. He subsequently went on to feature for Ingolstadt in the German Bundesliga before eventually moving to Aston Villa in the the Championship back in 2018.

Orjan Nyland of Aston Villa tries to save a shot during a FA Cup encounter.
Orjan Nyland of Aston Villa tries to save a shot during a FA Cup encounter. (Getty Images)

The 28-cap Norwegian international has heavily involved in Villa’s promotion-winning campaign in the Championship, making 23 appearances. He featured 7 times for Dean Smith’s side in the Premier League last term but found himself down the pecking order at the start of the 2020-21 campaign following the arrival of Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Norwich’s pursuit of a new goalkeeper in January certainly makes sense. Undisputed first-choice Tim Krul has returned to action following an injury layoff but deputy Michael McGovern has been ruled out for the next 3-4 months with a serious hamstring problem. That could see the veteran effectively miss the remainder of the campaign.

Putting things into context, Orjan Nyland ticks the box as an experienced shot-stopper in the Championship. The Norwegian international won promotion with Aston Villa at this level a couple of seasons back and would offer Farke a quality understudy to Krul between the sticks.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland ruptures Achilles in training |  Football News | Sky Sports
Source: Getty Images

Read more

Verdict

Norwich City have established themselves as one of the hot favourites for automatic promotion. They certainly wouldn’t want their campaign to be derailed by a potential burnout in the goalkeeping department. Having said that, a potential swoop for Orjan Nyland on a free transfer this month would certainly be a smart piece of business for the Canaries.