https://twitter.com/louorns/status/1302634338731913218 "Apparently Watford have signed Jamaican winger Norman Campbell. Not sure of the length of contract, or even if it’s first team (doubt it) but did have a trial for Udinese in February"
You know your transfer window is going poorly when you’re signing free agents that sound more like Lib Dem MPs than footballlers.
I don't remember us ever having a Norman before. I hope he's not an habitual criminal who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard.
First thoughts from his highlights: - Christ, the state of those pitches! Could be tough for anyone to play particularly well on them. - He looks very quick and a good, tricky dribbler. - More than a touch of Zaha in his gait and style of play (but thankfully with no initial signs of the petulance or diving, he rather seems feisty and resilient). - His shooting technique could do with a bit of work, scuffs a fair few. Playing on decent pitches could help though. - Appears to play more on the left wing (oh dear), but there are also some clips of him from the right-side demonstrating he is also capable of playing on the right in a similar manner to Sarr, beating a man for pace round the outside then putting in crosses. - He's not bad at striking the ball with his weaker left foot when necessary. Another note, he scored 7 goals in 1712 minutes in his first full season in the Jamaican PL as a 19/20 year-old. Commentator at the end said he had a trial with Stoke last summer. It seems he was at first with a number of Jamaican players in March then was invited back on his own in the summer. Ricardo Fuller played a part in arranging things for them. https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/spo...ews/stoke-city-norman-campbell-fuller-3142648 He appears promising overall. How would we have managed to get a work-permit though? No idea what the rules are for Jamaicans.
I spoke to someone regarding this. He was meant to sign earlier in the year but was waiting for a VISA. One-year deal with a view to eventually join Udinese next summer - they couldn’t sign him as they’ve already got two non eu players at the club currently. Meant to go into the U23s with a view to impress enough to join first team.
Seems Stoke actually tried to sign him last summer but had problems with a visa, after which Udinese stepped in: https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/spo...s/stoke-city-transfer-norman-campbell-3837198
This guy doesn't even have a profile on transfermarkt. How intriguing. He seems like a bit of a ghost...
ahhh the famous Louorns....like your Twitter updates and little bits of analysis. Keep up the good work
Welcome to the forum Lou. Good you have you here. I wonder if Campbell would be signing mainly for the U23s or if he’s seen as first team material just yet?
Weird. His representatives think he's joined Watford and you'd expect them to know. Yet theirs is the only site I've seen him listed at 1.92m. Others have him around the 1.78m/1.80m region. Theirs is also the only site with that particular birth date. Others I've found have him November 24th, 1999. Harbour View FC, his last club, http://hvfc.net/players/senior/ - age & height different https://int.soccerway.com/players/norman-campbell/595205/ - age & height different https://globalsportsarchive.com/people/soccer/norman-campbell/339460/ - age different https://premierleaguejamaica.com/people/norman-campbell/339460/ - age & height different Below is his profile with his agency.
Harbour View FC is linked with all the sites I listed and they have just the one Norman Campbell. His photo matches that of the agency as well.
According to his agent there’s still some visa issues. The contract is signed, he may just go on loan to another country. I personally doubt he’ll ever play for us. But you never know
A lot of sites use 1.80m as a sort of placeholder when they don't know the actual height. Not a clue why but it's something I've noticed a lot in my club work!
