Bruno Alves Faces Key Challenge at Norwich
Bruno Alves is a talent for Philippe Clement but the Brazilian centre back has one major hurdle to clear to be part of Norwich City's starting line up. Read more about Clement Targets Championship Glory with Brooks Signing.
The 20-year-old was the Canaries' first summer transfer deal, joining from Cruzeiro on an initial season-long loan that includes a purchase option which could rise to £2 million. Read more about Moulden Seeks Revival as Norwich Loan to Accrington Secured.
Alves was pitched straight into City's opening pre-season tune-up against Kings Lynn at Colney, and Clement admitted he has made a very good first impression.
He never played at the highest level, of course. But he played for the Under-20s of Brazil at a junior World Cup. It shows also something, said the Norwich head coach. He's a young talented player.
"What you saw in the first game is somebody with a lot of football qualities, really calm on the ball, intelligent also, so it's now adapting to the English game, which is a unique way of working in football for a centre back. You have to be strong in those duels and the physicality, but we're really pleased the way he adapted already in the first week or so," Clement added.
He doesn't speak almost any English, but he understands what we mean. Luckily we have Ricardo (Pereira, goalkeeper coach) to translate it. He looks a talented boy for the future, and of course, it's going to take time to adapt to things, but he has shown good signs.
Clement Optimistic About Transfer Success
Philippe Clement insists Norwich City have done their heavy lifting in the transfer market.
The Canaries were fast out of the traps this summer, with Andre Brooks an £8 million headline capture from Sheffield United, plus a permanent deal for Sam Field and an initial loan swoop for Brazilian youngster Bruno Alves.
City remain keen on a left back addition, but Clement is delighted with the backing from Mark Attanasio and Norfolk Holdings, and the support from sporting director Ben Knapper and his recruitment team.
The Norwich head coach even spent part of his family holiday assessing targets, as City look to steal a march on Championship rivals.
"No days off, but I don't mind that. It's what I want, I don't want to lose any second or to lose a transfer because I wasn't available," he said.
Clement noted that they could act really fast, especially with the owners stepping in for significant investments like Andre's transfer. "I think a lot of good work has been done already. We're not going to do many more transfers so I'm happy about that," he added.
Preparing for the Upcoming Season
Clement can now focus on the job of getting his squad battle-ready for the league kick-off on August 15.
"I've been in situations in the past that it gets to late July, August, and I had to watch every evening again, new players, and you look at 300 players all summer long," he explained.
"Now we don't have much to do anymore, also because a lot of things were done last season. A young group is made, they showed potential and we want to push them again to a higher level, so you need to give them chances," he said.
"It's a different pre-season if you can have July and August where you don't have to stay up every night until 2 am watching players. It's different for my life," Clement concluded.