Ricky van Wolfswinkel: Norwich City agree deal for Dutch striker

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Ricky van Wolfswinkel

Norwich City have agreed to sign striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon in the summer for an undisclosed fee, thought to be £8.5m.

The Netherlands international, 24, will sign a four-year deal on 1 July, subject to paperwork being completed.

Van Wolfswinkel has scored 13 goals for Sporting Lisbon this season.

"Ricky's profile is a perfect fit for us - he's young, ambitious and a proven goalscorer," said Norwich boss Chris Hughton.external-link

"He has an excellent goalscoring pedigree and he's a young man very keen to continue his personal progression and to play in England.

"He's already an exciting talent but he still has more development as a player ahead of him.

Van Wolfswinkel signed a five-year deal when joining Sporting Lisbon from Netherlands club Utrecht in 2011.

He went on to score 23 goals in 39 games in his debut season for the Portuguese club.

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141 comments

  • Comment posted by TheeHuggett, at 01:59 23 Mar 2013

    Wow, impressive.. Don't mean to offend Norwich fans but I'm amazed they've got him. I'm sure he'll help them push on to being a top half team. Fair play to 'em.

  • Comment posted by Mudfish88, at 08:11 23 Mar 2013

    I can't wait for the songs from the terraces, e.g.

    "One Ricky van Wolfswinkel,
    there's only one Ricky van Wolfswinkel,
    one Ricky van Wolfswinkel.." etc

    I've searched LinkedIn, there literally is only one Ricky van Wolfswinkel

  • Comment posted by Jules, at 07:31 23 Mar 2013

    An excellent acquisition which shows how far Norwich have come in the past few seasons. I can't remember the last time that a player was signed that suggested the club had true ambition of not only remaining in the premiership but also cementing a position in the top half. I think this signing does just that. Well done Delia, McNally and Hughton!

  • Comment posted by SirErnie, at 09:08 23 Mar 2013

    Take note QPR. Forget the overpriced, Premier League journeymen. This is how you spend money - young, hungry team players.

  • Comment posted by U15582595, at 09:09 23 Mar 2013

    As an Ipswich fan I have to say im pretty jealous, has a great year at Sporting last year surprised Tottenham, Villa et al didn't try to get him ah well we've still got Chopra :/

  • Comment posted by gbell, at 00:17 24 Mar 2013

    King Kong, if you pay any attention to football outside of England then you would know RVW is not 'an unknown player' playing for a team 'hardly any1s ever heard of'. He's no all star, but a solid player playing for a decent Sporting Lisbon team.

    Catch a grip.

  • Comment posted by U15615093, at 18:02 23 Mar 2013

    107.
    He supports Celtic, a team who play in Scotland where the best and most successful team in the country play in the bottom tier. No wonder he's confused.

  • Comment posted by U15437724, at 01:40 24 Mar 2013

    You've just contradicted yourself, King kong. You say he has no technique etc, yet in your previous post you ask why you should respect a player 'I've never seen play or heard of''.

    Basically, you don't know what you're talking about.

  • Comment posted by U15658794, at 19:42 23 Mar 2013

    I think this is a great signing for Norwich. He has been linked with top clubs in the last few years (Liverpool, Newcastle, Man u etc). He is a proven goalscorer which is exactly what Norwich needs. OTBC. Let's get behind the Lad - Wolf's Winkle

  • Comment posted by wedontcarrybottles, at 17:18 23 Mar 2013

    As a member of the south east branch of the great and the good and an employee of the BBC, I insist this story should be changed to a story about Manchester United immediately.

  • Comment posted by U15252887, at 11:30 23 Mar 2013

    Very proud of how far my club has come.. League one and on our knees to 6 points away from our 3rd season with the big boys.
    Tight budget controls have righted the ship and now McNasty is letting Hoots dip into the pot...
    Qpr,Blackburn,ip5w1ch, Leeds, Wolves take note.. THIS is how you run a small club.

  • Comment posted by U14792986, at 10:54 23 Mar 2013

    Wow! What a signing!

    Serious show of intent from Norwich...

  • Comment posted by U10414278, at 08:54 23 Mar 2013

    As a sporting lisbon fan, let me just clarify. Our president last night said the transfer is at 10m Euros(8.5M) plus 2m depending on performances. We rejected a 11m offer from dinamo kiev. He is a good player with a great working work ethic. He works very hard for the team and i think he will be a great addiction to norwich and the premier league.

  • Comment posted by noisysilentmajority, at 08:26 23 Mar 2013

    Excellent signing. Shows real intent. Watch out world (or at least West Ham, Stoke, Fulham, Swansea & Co!)

  • Comment posted by robnfc, at 16:20 24 Mar 2013

    OK not all young and hungry but you cant say Norwich haven't invested in British players. Out of their 30 odd player squad 22 of them are home grown, not to mention the 10 players they have out on loan; 9 of which are also home grown. Not many PL clubs can say that!!

  • Comment posted by jonesy1992, at 14:57 24 Mar 2013

    King Kong mentioned something about this move meaning Norwich missing chance to sign young British players.... Has he missed the amount of young British signings Norwich made last 2-4 seasons. Snodgrass, Johnson, Howson, Bennett, Ruddy, Pilkington (Irish yes)... Could go on!

  • Comment posted by spitonthegorilla, at 07:33 24 Mar 2013

    Good signing, great name

  • Comment posted by fr1313, at 02:23 24 Mar 2013

    king kong

    So you know each and every 'good' and upcoming player in the sport? Give me a break

    He's only scored in the Portuguese and Dutch League? Well, players have to start somewhere. Van Persie, Van Nistel Rooy, Sneijder, Suarez, Ronaldo, Nani all were, for the most part, unknown goal-scorers in the Dutch or Portuguese league prior to arriving to the Premier League.

  • Comment posted by Kurt, at 00:54 24 Mar 2013

    @124

    My club Norwich are one of the sides that have the most players from the British Isles. Some of these are pushing for international honours. For a club that's only been in the top league for 2 season's that is not bad! RvW could be the new Michu next season. The wages are managable after all this is little old Norwich we're talking about, prudence with ambition and all that Delia talk

  • Comment posted by fr1313, at 00:16 24 Mar 2013

    @ King Kong

    He's coming over from Sporting Lisbon, hardly unknown. Actually, its the same club that gave United Cristiano Ronaldo. And the player's also quite known, he's a Dutch International. A bit of respect would be nice.

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