Norwich City have agreed a deal with Saint-Etienne for striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel to join the French side on a season-long loan. The 26-year-old will link up with the Ligue 1 outfit with immediate effect after failing to justify his £8.5million price tag as the Canaries were relegated from the Premier League last season.
The Dutchman joined Norwich from Sporting Lisbon last summer
and his career at Carrow Road started promisingly as he scored on his debut in a 2-2 draw with Everton on August 17.
However, he failed to find the net in his next 26 appearances and has now left for France.
Norwich manager Neil Adams told the club's official website:
"I can't speak highly enough about how professional Ricky has been, even though he had a difficult first season at the club.
"His attitude has been first class, and this move represents an opportunity for him to play regularly
and get back to scoring goals in the way he has done in the past. We wish him the best of luck."
Saint-Etienne manager Christophe Galtier is an admirer of Van Wolfswinkel and will be delighted with his acquisition.
"He played a pre-season friendly against us two years ago. He hurt us a lot and we all noticed his quality," Galtier told L'Equipe last week.
"Since the end of last season, we had noticed his name.
"He is a box player, which has the technical quality of Dutch players. They really have a good school for footballers but for men too."
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