Norwich City must hold onto Teemu Pukki amidst Galatasaray interest

As per a report from Turkish outlet Gunes, Norwich City are in danger of losing star striker Teemu Pukki in the January transfer window with Turkish giants Galatasaray lining up a move to sign the 28-year-old.

Reacting to the rumours of interest from Galatasaray, the Finland international claimed that he was flattered but was happy at Norwich for the time being. Speaking to Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet, he said (h/t Eastern Daily Press):

“It is obviously flattering, but at the same time I know that rumours always circulate. Most do not match. (How much would you be interested on a possible move to Istanbul?) Not so badly. Me and my family are enjoying ourselves very much in Norwich.”

Pukki started out at FC KTP in his homeland Finland, before having spells with Sevilla Atletico, Helsinki and Schalke. The striker’s first big move came in 2013 when he joined Scottish champions Celtic from Schalke. However, the Finnish forward endured a difficult year in Scotland, before leaving for Danish outfit Brondby the subsequent summer.

Pukki managed to get his career back on track in Denmark and went on to score 72 times in 164 games for Brondby between 2014 and 2018, before joining Norwich City on a free transfer.

Since joining up with the Canaries, the 28-year-old has been in unstoppable form. So far in the ongoing season, Pukki has bagged ten goals and set up two more in 16 matches across all competitions, helping Norwich to the pole position in the EFL Championship standings. The striker scored back-to-back braces against Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall in his last two league appearances before the international break.

The 65-time capped Finland international has scored 32.14% of Norwich City’s goals in the English second division this term and averages a goal every 137 minutes he has been on the pitch.

Pukki is the joint third-highest goalscorer in the competition along with Birmingham City’s Lukas Jutkiewicz, Nottingham Forest’s Lewis Grabban and West Bromwich Albion’s Dwight Gayle. Only Neal Maupay of Brentford (12) and Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp (10) have scored more goals this term than the Norwich City man.

The 28-year-old has averaged an impressive 2.8 shots per 90 minutes, which is only bettered by Maupay (3.2) among the aforementioned strikers. The Norwich City man has played 1.4 key passes every ninety minutes, which again is second-best only to Maupay (1.7) among the top six goalscorers in the Championship.

Pukki has been mainly utilized as a centre-forward by manager Daniel Farke this term but the Finnish attacker can also play out in the wide areas and as an auxiliary forward behind the main striker. In any role assigned to him, the former Celtic man has been effective for Norwich, and without a doubt, has been one of the chief driving forces behind their rise to the summit of the Championship table.

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And losing such an integral part of the team midway through the campaign could have a disastrous effect on the Canaries’ promotion chances. Hence, they must do everything in their power to ensure that Pukki stays put at Carrow Road beyond the January transfer window.

*Stats courtesy: WhoScored.com