Why Norwich City must take a gamble on Brian Montenegro this summer

Back in December 2019, Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb (h/t Pink Un) had claimed that Norwich City were interested in signing Olimpia forward Brian Montenegro. However, a move didn’t happen in the January transfer window.

Brian Montenegro, 26, played a key role in Olimpia Asunçion winning the Paraguayan domestic league, scoring 10 goals and 7 assists in 28 matches. He has started the new campaign well, scoring a goal in Olimpia’s 2-1 victory over Defensa earlier this month.

The 26-year-old had two previous spells in England at West Ham and Leeds United earlier in his career, but failed to net a single goal for either of them. However, the Paraguayan forward has gradually rebuilt his reputation since moving to Olimpia in 2017.

Meanwhile, Norwich City are struggling in the English top-flight after making a return last summer from the Championship.

They now once again look poised for a return to the Championship with the side sitting rock-bottom in the table, managing just five wins from 29 matches. However, they still have nine matches to play and it remains to be seen if the Canaries still manage to stay in the top-flight.

Daniel Farke desperately needs to land some quality players this summer regardless of what Norwich’s status is at the end of 2019/20. Scoring goals has been a big problem for the Norfolk club, with Teemu Pukki being a consistent scorer. Pukki has netted 11 goals in 28 games, often finding himself isolated up front.

Other than the Finn, Todd Cantwell has chipped in with six goals. But with Onel Hernandez, Josip Drmic and Marco Stiepermann failing to live up to the expectations, the manager must address the shortcomings in his squad over the summer.

To put things into perspective, Norwich’s lack of firepower in the Premier League has been well-documented and Farke would be wise to reignite his interest in Brian Montenegro.

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Montenegro has never been a prolific goalscorer in his career and despite failing to make a mark in his previous spells with West Ham and Leeds, the 26-year-old could well act as a decent backup to Pukki next term. His arrival would offer good competition to Pukki for a starting role within the side.

Verdict

With the Canaries having a dearth of options in the forward department, Montenegro’s arrival would offer Farke more options to choose from. His success at Olimpia hardly guarantees the same at Carrow Road, taking into account the obvious difference in quality between the two leagues in question.

However, purely going by his recent form, Norwich must take a gamble on the former Paraguayan U20 international.