Norwich latest to offer Liverpool striker more first-team football
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For every fairytale ending in football there are masses of disappointments and Rickie Lambert’s move to boyhood club Liverpool looks like concluding in the latter category, though the striker is not short of suitors it would seem.
West Brom, Aston Villa and Bournemouth have registered interests in taking Lambert on and now newly-promoted Norwich can be added to that list.
According to the Mirror, Canaries boss Alex Neil’s active pursuit of Lambert now places the Carrow Road club at the front of the queue for his signature.
That revelation isn’t yet reflected by Ladbrokes’ latest market on Lambert’s future however.
The bookmaker shows Villa to be favourites still at 2/1 to sign him this summer, ahead of 4/1 pokes Bournemouth and then Norwich at 8s.
The catalyst for a move to go through appears to lie with Liverpool’s efforts to wrap up a deal for Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.
As soon as Brendan Rodgers is assured he has his man then he can start to trim some of the deadwood from his forward ranks, which will inevitably include the 33-year-old Lambert.
Having made significant contributions to the goals-for column over two top-flight campaigns at St Mary’s, the former Southampton man failed to earn a regular starting spot after securing his dream Reds move a year ago.
Lambert was restricted to cameos for considerable periods during 2014/15 and his paltry goals return mirrored this.
The Kirby native managed to find the net twice in 25 Premier League appearances for his beloved club last season, but plenty of other managers still believe Lambert can get back to his Saints form given regular opportunities.
The frequency of starts on offer may well be the pivotal factor for the England international when he makes his final decision this summer.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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