Norwich City inks ‘creative’ German midfielder Marco Stiepermann
Photo credit: Norwich City
Norwich City FC have signed versatile midfielder Marco Stiepermann from 2. Bundesliga side VfL Bochum, the club announced Sunday. Stiepermann joins the Canaries on a three-year deal for an undisclosed sum, locking up the 26-year-old’s services until mid-2020.
“I’ve seen the city here and it’s very nice,” Stiepermann said in the team release announcing the move. “I didn’t need a long time to think about it because I’ve known about Norwich City for a long time.
“It’s good for me to play here. I know Marcel (Franke) and Mario Vrancic and we spoke about the club, which was good.”
A product of Borussia Dortmund’s system, Stiepermann also spent time in the German second division and represented the Germany national team at youth levels. He’s primarily an attacking-minded player, but in recent years proved capable of helping out at a variety of spots on the pitch.
“He’s an all-rounder and a creative guy,” Norwich manager Daniel Farke told Canaries.co.uk of Stiepermann’s abilities. “He started his career as a No. 10, but last season played as a holding midfielder and in the left fullback position a lot.”
Since taking over as head coach in May, Farke has done his part to completely revamp the Norwich roster. The signing of Stiepermann was the club’s ninth addition during the summer transfer window.
Photo credit: Jason Dawson/Norwich City
In the Canaries’ season-opening 1-1 draw at Fulham on Saturday, many of the new faces got their first taste of action in the green and yellow kits. Seven players made their debut appearances for the club, all of whom were in the starting XI.
Norwich sought drastic change in the offseason, and that’s exactly what’s happened with Farke at the helm. After disappointing in the Premier League in 2015 and falling short of promotion last season, Norwich canned previous head coach Alex Neil in March.
As for Stiepermann’s role with the Canaries, he’ll likely provide mostly minutes off the bench as a backup central midfielder. And when needed, the tall German might also play as a winger or fullback. Farke appears keen to the idea of utilizing Stiepermann’s 6-2 frame to help both the offense and defense on restarts.
Midfielder Marco Stiepermann has penned a three-year deal with the Canaries! #ncfc
Full story: https://t.co/0JUPwpZeqw pic.twitter.com/SVQeNt2t41
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) August 6, 2017
“Marco’s height will help us with set pieces,” Farke explained. “When an opponent plays with long balls or with set pieces, he’ll be good for us.
“As an all-rounder he can create, but is also able to score. He will be able to cover several positions for us.”
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