Milot Rashica has been backed to make his mark at Norwich City soon by head coach Daniel Farke, ahead of Saturday’s battle with Brighton.
The summer signing is yet to contribute a goal or an assist from eight appearances, four of which have been Premier League starts, but the winger had an assist ruled out by VAR and won a penalty for Kosovo during the international break.
“Milot is a player who is full of potential and he attracted many clubs in recent years. We are still pretty proud that we were able to bring him in and are all happy with him as a signing,” said Farke.
“He had a difficult last two years, especially the last year, at Werder Bremen. Let’s be honest, otherwise it would not be possible to bring him in because the year before there were top-six clubs in England and the top two clubs in Germany were interested in signing him.
“We knew it would need some time for him to adapt a bit to English football and also to find his rhythm back.
“Pre-season was also difficult for him because we had to cancel some friendlies and he was out with Covid. Of course I would have preferred that he had a full pre-season.
“I think he has shown more than just promising signs in the first games. Yes, we know it would be nice if he got off the mark in terms of goals and assists.
“But he was there actually for the assist for Kenny McLean’s header against Leicester that was, I think, wrongly ruled out by VAR, so he would have already been there with an assist.
“There is definitely the potential to be there in double figures in terms of goal contributions. Of course if it’s just 10 minutes, like at Burnley, then it is not easy for him to score.
“But we are fully convinced that he helps on the mid and long term and I just can say I am happy with Milot.
“It was not easy for him to play against Manchester City and Liverpool, those are tough fixtures and not that easy to shine in for offensive players but I am quite sure that we won’t have to wait too long until Milot is off the mark in terms of goals and assists.”
Teemu Pukki has scored both of struggling City’s goals so far but heads into the Carrow Road clash with Brighton buoyed by three goals in two games for Finland, to become his country’s all-time top scorer.
“Teemu is fantastic. I don’t want to discuss whether he is the greatest striker this club has ever had but he is definitely one of the greatest, there is no doubt about this,” Farke continued.
“His numbers speak for themselves, it’s unbelievable what he has done for us during the last seasons.
“More or less since the first day he came through the door he was outstanding. In his first Championship season he was there with 29 goals, best goal-scorer in the league, best player in the league, outstanding.
“Then he scored double figures in the Premier League, then in the last season in the Championship 26 again – and then he almost brought Finland to the Euros on his own, it was outstanding.
“It’s well-deserved that he is the number one all-time goal-scorer for Finland, a proud record for him and his family and he totally deserves this.
“Not just for his quality but also his personality is top class, he is not so much thinking about himself, he is more thinking about the team.
“I was a striker as well and sometimes you are also greedy to be there with a fantastic record but Teemu is really more thinking about the team and whenever a team-mate is in a better position he also passes the ball.
“We are all unbelievably happy that we have him, not just for his skills as a football player but also his skills as a person, he is a fantastic football player but perhaps an even better human being and we are all glad that we have him.”
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