"Hasn't been worth the money” - Norwich City "investment" backed to live up to £8.5m price tag | OneFootball

Ante Crnac has been backed to justify his £8.5m price tag at Norwich City after a mixed start to life at Carrow Road.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Ante Crnac has been backed to come good at Norwich City despite a mixed start to life at Carrow Road.

There was a lot of excitement among the supporters when the Canaries sealed a deal for the 21-year-old forward, with the club agreeing an £8.5m deal plus add-ons with Polish side Rakow.

Whilst the high-profile sales of Gabriel Sara, Adam Idah and Jonathan Rowe helped fund the transfer, it was still a significant outlay for Norwich, so there was an expectation surrounding Crnac.

Ante Crnac is a "long-term investment"

And, the fans have seen flashes of Crnac’s undoubted quality, with the forward having scored five goals and registered four assists in 31 games.

However, Crnac hasn’t always convinced, and he has also struggled to nail down a specific place in the XI, with many of his minutes coming out wide, as top scorer Josh Sargent is the preferred number nine.

So, when quizzed by FLW on whether Crnac has been a good value signing, fan pundit Zeke admitted things haven’t gone to plan just yet, although he was confident that the Croatian would come good.

He said: “It’s obviously a hefty chunk of money, on a player that has not done a lot in his career yet.

“There’s a case to say we have overpaid, but there’s a reason why we have. I’ve seen positive signs from him, but he has not picked up enough goals or assists yet, and we don’t know whether he’s a striker or a winger.

“I would imagine he’s a striker, and there to replace Sargent in the long run, but because he has been put on the wing, like Sargent was when Teemu Pukki was around, it’s hard to really tell what he is.

“But, I think Crnac, like a lot of others, will come into their own next season. As it stands, he hasn’t been worth the money, but he is a long-term investment.”

Norwich City must show patience with Ante Crnac

Most would agree that Crnac has been signed with the future in mind, so it is certainly far too early to judge him as a Norwich player.

It’s also important to recognise that he is still very young, and moving to a new country, with a new league that is played with a much higher intensity, meant that a period of adaptation was always going to be required.

Plus, it’s also worth stressing that Crnac has shown he has talent. It’s not like he has struggled all season, and he will still have a big role to play as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s men push to reach the play-offs.

The new manager has had a difficult start to life in England, as several key players moved on from last season, and the recruitment team brought in individuals who they will hope can be influential for Norwich in the years to come.