Dean Smith is excited about the prospect of working with Milot Rashica at Norwich City having tried to sign the winger during his time at Aston Villa, as reported by The Athletic.
In summer 2020, it felt barely a day went by without Rashica being linked with a move to England’s second city.
And it was more than just idle paper talk. We know for a fact Aston Villa’s interest was real – because Werder Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann told us so.
“There are several interested parties, and Aston Villa are one of them,” former Germany international Baumann said in September 2020, while Rashica was still plying his trade at the Weserstadion.
Can former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith save Milot Rashica’s Norwich City career?
According to the Birmingham Mail, however, it was Rashica himself who scuppered any chances of a move to Villa Park before the transfer window closed.
Nine months later, Rashica was finally on his way to England – but his destination was East Anglia rather than Birmingham.
Newly promoted Norwich snapped up the former Vitesse Arnhem speedster in a £9 million deal – Rashica’s price tag dropping substantially after long-time strugglers Werder finally tumbled through the Bundesliga trap door into the second tier.
In a strange twist of fate, former Aston Villa manager Smith has now been handed the opportunity to get his mitts on the raw, rough-edged Rashica at Carrow Road.
And, according to The Athletic, he is “looking forward” to the prospect.
Rashica, too, should be pleased about the appointment of a coach who obviously thinks highly of him, especially if Smith introduces a 4-3-3 system that would suit him to a tee.
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