da apostebet： Daniel Farke’s Norwich City are interested in a summer move for Mehdi Zerkane.
What’s the talk?
da wazamba： That’s according to a report by La Gazette du Fennec, who claimed that both the Canaries and Aston Villa are keeping a close eye on the Bordeaux winger ahead of the summer transfer window.
The report added that, while the 21-year-old would like to stay in Ligue 1 for a further year to continue his development, Les Girondins could be tempted into parting with the £1.8m-rated youngster if a significant offer is made due to their troublesome financial state.
Mahrez 2.0
With Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber having an extraordinary amount of success in recent seasons with signing lesser-known and under-appreciated talents, such as Emi Buendia’s £1.35m signing from Getafe and Teemu Pukki’s arrival from Brondby on a free transfer, Zerkane could well fit the bill for the sporting director once again this summer.
The winger, who is a product of the youth setup at AS Monaco, has yet to truly burst onto the scene at Bordeaux, having featured just 27 times for the Ligue 1 side, scoring one goal and registering one assist. However, it seems that a number of clubs believe the 21-year-old possesses a considerable amount of talent, with Marseille, Lyon, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid all attempting to sign Zerkane upon his departure from Monaco.
Indeed, there are obvious comparisons which can be drawn between Zerkane and Riyad Mahrez, with both players being left-footed right-wingers who like to cut inside, both being Algeria internationals and both starting their footballing careers in France.
As such, with Bordeaux reportedly open to offers for the highly-rated youngster this summer, it would seem a highly advisable move for Webber to pursue a deal for the 21-year-old. If he goes on to fulfil the potential that a number of Europe’s biggest clubs clearly believe he possesses, Norwich could indeed have the next Mahrez on their hands ahead of next season.
In other news: Forget Skipp: Webber must seal Norwich deal for “fantastic” £6.3m-rated star – opinion