Each day from now until the beginning of the Premier League season, we will preview two teams from England’s top flight. You can view them all here at PST Preview central. Don’t forget, the 2013-14 PL season begins on August 17th, and for the first-time ever you can watch every game live on NBC Sports.
Two points from a top-10 finish last season, Norwich City reloaded in the off-season. The Canaries offloaded 13 players and picked up eight, giving the squad a whole new look heading into the 2013-14 season. Particularly of interest is the team’s new desire for foreign talent, having signed a player from Spain, two from the Netherlands and a Swede.
Transfers In: GK Carlo Nash (Stoke City), F Gary Hooper (Celtic, Scotland), D Javier Garrido (Lazio, Italy), M Leroy Fer (FC Twente, Netherlands), D/M Martin Olsson (Blackburn Rovers, Championship), M Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City, Championship), F Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal), D Semi Ajayi (Charlton Athletic, Championship)
Transfers Out: M George Francomb (Wimbledon, League Two), GK Jed Steer (Aston Villa), M Tom Adeyemi (Birmingham City, Championship), D Marc Tierney (Bolton Wanderers, Championship), D Elliott Ward (Bournemouth, Championship), F Chris Martin (Derby County, Championship), F Simeon Jackson (Eintracht Braunschweig, Germany), F James Vaughan (Huddersfield Town, Championship), M Korey Smith (Oldham Athletic, League One), F Grant Holt (Wigan Athletic, Championship), D Leon Barnett (Wigan Athletic, Championship), GK Lee Camp (released), M Andrew Surman (loan, Bournemouth, Championship)
Key Player: With Grant Holt, the top scorer in Norwich’s last four seasons, gone, young Dutchman Ricky van Wolfswinkel will be squarely in the public eye this season. Van Wolfswinkel signed for a club record £8.5 million from Sporting Lisbon, where he scored 28 goals in 55 appearances over two seasons.
The burden on his shoulders: continue scoring boatloads of goals after moving to another foreign country at age 24. Sounds simple enough.
Manager: Chris Hughton has been manager of Norwich since Paul Lambert left for Aston Villa after leading the Canaries to two successive promotions. Hughton led the team to its 11th-place finish last season, one spot above Lambert’s final season at Norwich.
Hughton has a reputation as a player’s manager, and he has found success at every club he’s coached. He has a habit of taking small clubs to higher places, such as when his team beat Arsenal and Manchester United last year, and when he led Birmingham City to the UEFA Europa League group stage while in the Championship.
Outlook: Whenever clubs reload as quickly as Norwich has this summer, the risk is a lack of cohesion. However, the team is legitimately better now than it was before, so even if it takes a month or two, Norwich has the potential to be one of the major risers this season. A top-10 finish is not out of the question, and neither is a European place with a deep run in the FA Cup.
(MORE: Read all the Premier League previews for each team here)
