Expert view on imminent Norwich City signing Jakov Medic.

If Norwich City can reach an agreement with Ajax to sign Jakov Medic, it would be a defensive upgrade.

The Canaries are believed to be closing in on the signing of the Croatian centre back, with only paperwork remaining on his £1.8 million with add-ons transfer to Carrow Road. Medic will follow Harry Darling through the door as Norwich strengthens their defensive ranks. Medic spent the entire last season on loan at Bundesliga club Bochum, so we spoke with commentator Dan O’Hagan to get the scoop on the soon-to-be City defender. CS: Thanks for joining us, Dan. What kind of player might Norwich City sign in Jakov Medic?

DoH: They’ll be signing a very modern defender, and while Medic is technically superb, he also has some physicality. I suppose he’s six feet three and really imposing. It’s strange because Croatian players typically come through huge clubs like Dynamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, and Rijeka. This guy didn’t; he started at little teams, advanced to the German fourth division with Nürnberg’s reserve team, and then had to work his way up from there. He subsequently moved to St Pauli in Hamburg, which was in the second division at the time, and excelled. A few promotion near misses. Medic evolved into a truly graceful, technically proficient, yet equally powerful defender.

Ajax is not a club to join unless you have some experience playing. So, theoretically speaking, this guy is the real deal. Bochum extended a loan offer last summer. Bochum was perhaps the incorrect club to choose because they were always going to struggle. They’d barely made it through the playoffs the previous year. It was difficult since they were constantly on the back foot, and a ball-playing defender would struggle on this team. There was a change of coach fairly early on, and the coach that came in, Dieter Hecking, was considerably more back to basics and wanted guys who could be more old-fashioned, rough defenders. So, he didn’t really start as many games as he had hoped to. Bochum went down, but Medic was not culpable in that at all.

CS: When we talk about ball-playing ability, it might sometimes come at the expense of defensive capabilities. Can he accomplish the basics?

DoH: He resembles a defender. He is a large, strong, tough person with a footballing edge to his game. I have to say, when I saw him play, I didn’t think, ‘He’ll go to England’. He did not spring out like that. But when you think about what you saw and what he has, it all makes sense. I believe it is an upgrade above what Norwich currently has, particularly defensively. He’s at a nice age. There will also be resale value, which is vital these days for clubs like Norwich. I think what they’ve got there is a player with all the tools in the toolkit to do well in the Championship and certainly will add to and, I think, upgrade on what Norwich have currently in that position.

CS: There has been a lot of speculation regarding whether Liam Manning will play in a back three or four for Norwich City. Medic played in a trio at Bochum; is he more suited to that system?

DoH: At Pauli and Bochum, he mostly played in a three-man lineup. I mean, he’s a really talented defender, a football player who can play in a three or four-man back line. So, I’d have no reservations about that. Obviously, Liam Manning will have some ideas about how he wants to set up. If he wishes to play with a three, Medic can play the right, left, or centre position. So, a good, adaptable, versatile, modern centre defender, who I believe ticks many of Norwich’s qualities. CS: Bochum had a permanent option to sign Medic this summer, but they declined. Was it a surprise given some of his performances?

DoH: Relegation, like in England, results in financial cuts, particularly in Germany. So they couldn’t afford to sign him, no matter how much they wanted to. Bochum is a club with little financial resources. They cannot afford to pay even two or three million euros for a player. And when he’d gone down, it was just too far. They couldn’t afford to make the shift permanent. If they had stayed up, they might have succeeded. But, as I mentioned, he barely started half of their league games last season. So, when Dieter Hecking came in as a lot more old-school coach, I don’t think Medic was his cup of tea. He wasn’t his signing, obviously. He came in the autumn.

CS: It appears that Norwich City have beaten off interest from both the Bundesliga and the Championship. Is it risky for him to travel to England at this stage of his career? DoH: He understands the German game well. He was one of the greatest defenders in the second level at St Pauli and appeared to fit in with Bochum in the top flight. I can see that clubs like Mainz and Augsburg, and others in the mid-tier, would have wanted to make an offer since he can clearly play at that level. But I believe the player will want to try his luck now in England. He has performed well in Germany.

He’s made it in that sector and now wants to branch out. So, obviously, Norwich is an appealing club and a fantastic place to live. Norwich attracts players because it is a fascinating enterprise. They played in the Premier League not long ago. And that’s where Medic wants to go someday. Norwich now has a superior defence than they had before. He has a relatively solid pedigree for a young athlete, checks all of the boxes, and appears to be a great signing.

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