Oliver Norwood
Oliver Norwood is one of the high-profile names in the Championship, who has never had the luck of playing in the Premier League.
Born in Burnley, Norwood joined the Manchester United academy as a youngster but failed to break into the first team at Old Trafford. Consequently, he spent time on loan at Carlisle United, Scunthorpe United and Coventry City before joining Huddersfield Town in 2012.
After a successful couple of seasons at Huddersfield Town, the Northern Irishman joined Reading and then shifted bases to Brighton and Hove Albion in 2016. The central midfielder played an important role in the Seagulls’ promotion-winning season in the Championship but was loaned out to Fulham for the 2017-18 season.
Norwood once again proved his worth as a seasoned campaigner in the second tier and was one of the driving forces behind the Cottagers’ successful campaign in the Championship which saw them secure promotion. However, Fulham did not exercise the option of signing him permanently and he was loaned out to Sheffield United for the 2018-19 season.
It has been a tragic tale for the Northern Irishman so far and a player of his calibre, who has bags of experience of playing in the Championship, should certainly get a chance to prove his mettle in the Premier League.
To put things into perspective, Bournemouth should make a move for him in January. He has been deemed surplus to Brighton’s requirements and the Cherries are unlikely to have any great difficulties in landing him.
A central midfielder by trade, Norwood is known for his strength, tenacity and hard tackling. He has a good range of passing and can dictate the tempo of the game in the middle of the park. The 27-year-old is someone who plays well within his limitations but he can be an effective player in the midfield with his ability to cut out the attacks with crucial tackles and interceptions.
Norwood is adept at building up the play with accurate long balls from a deep position in the midfield and he is at his best when deployed in a holding role.
He has averaged 73.7 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 83, including 2.9 crosses and 9.2 successful long balls per game, figures which show that he is a sort of midfield general around whom the play revolves. Furthermore, he has registered 2.4 tackles and 2 interceptions per game this season.
Bournemouth have lost momentum after a bright start to the season and the lack of a commanding presence in the middle of the park has been a telling factor behind their downfall.
Jefferson Lerma has been a standout figure in the midfield but he hasn’t had a partner to work in tandems with him. Lewis Cook’s injury has forced Eddie Howe to use Dan Gosling and Andrew Surman, both of whom are not really up to the Premier League standards.
Oliver Norwood has shown enough promise in the Championship to replicate his heroics in the Premier League. He certainly fits the bill at the south coast club and they should make a move for him in January.