Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Norwich City’s record transfer at the time of his purchase from Sporting CP in 2013, is moving on after a largely unsuccessful four-year stint with the Canaries.
The 27-year-old has returned to his home country, moving to Vitesse Arnhem - the club he went professional with as a 19-year-old. Van Wolfswinkel made his professional debut in April of 2008 with Vitesse, and now returns for an undisclosed fee.
Van Wolfswinkel came to Norwich in 2013 with much fanfare, signing for a reported fee of $11 million - a club record signing at the time.
He proceeded to score just a single goal in 25 appearances during his first season in the Premier League, with Norwich finding itself relegated. He moved to Ligue 1 on loan with Norwich in the Championship, but still managed just five goals in 28 league appearances with St. Etienne. He never made another appearance for the Canaries, instead moving on loan again Real Betis last season, but flopped there too, scoring just once in 16 league appearances.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel tekent voor drie jaar in Arnhem! Welkom terug, Ricky! #Vitesse https://t.co/xuJowKk17Q pic.twitter.com/WvkgpsdBlc
— Vitesse (@MijnVitesse) July 28, 2016
Ricky van Wolfswinkel has today joined Vitesse Arnhem for an undisclosed fee. #ncfc
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) July 28, 2016
More: https://t.co/ooHkAOcnMb pic.twitter.com/tR4C3O8ZGn
“I debuted in professional football on behalf of Vitesse and that is something you never forget,” van Wolfswinkel said upon signing. “After several foreign adventures I look forward to returning to the Dutch fields. I hope to find my niche and want to play well and add many goals and assists for Vitesse.”
