In a move to bolster their attacking options, Norwich City snapped up Dynamo Kiev centre forward Dieumerci Mbokani on a season-long loan deal with the option to buy. On his arrival at Carrow Road, the DR Congo international expressed his delight at moving to England but conceded he needs to work on his match sharpness:
“I am very happy. I’ve always had a dream to play in England and today I’ve realised that dream. For me this is the best moment to come here. First of all, I am a goalscorer and I want to score goals. But I look forward to becoming part of this group, and I think working as a team I can become even stronger on the pitch. I’ve spoken to Alex (Neil), he is counting on me and he obviously played a large part in bringing me here. Now it is up to me to perform. I can say now that I feel good physically, but I a missing a bit of match fitness. I’m going to work hard in training and it will be up to the coach to decide how I am looking in training.”
The History
Born in the DR Congo, Mbokani started out at local club Bel’Or, where he ended the 2004 season as their top scorer with 16 goals. He then spent a couple of years at top-tier side TP Mazembe, before making a loan switch to Belgian outfit Anderlecht for the 2006/07 season. Mbokani made just two starts during his stay, capping off the campaign with four goals in as many outings.
Identifying the potential from his time with Anderlecht, fellow Belgian Pro League side Standard Liege signed the African frontman in the summer of 2007. His debut campaign for the Reds proved to be hugely successful, harvesting 15 goals and four assists across 32 appearances. He fared even better the following season, chalking up 16 goals and five assists in 29 outings.
Mbokani eventually landed a contract with Monaco in July 2010 but failed to make an impression and moved on loan to Wolfsburg for the remainder of the season. Anderlecht then came calling again in the summer of 2011, signing him on a permanent basis this time around.
Despite contending with knee injuries and personal tragedy, Mbokani managed 10 goals and four assists in just 1451 minutes during the 2011/12 campaign. The next term also served up a strong haul of attacking returns, with 17 goals and three assists arriving in 19 outings. Such an impressive strike rate encouraged Dynamo Kiev to bring the clinical striker over to Ukraine for the 2013/14 season.
Mbokani’s first year in the capital produced 13 goals and 10 assists across 25 appearances. He fell out of favour in the previous campaign, though, meaning he managed just three goals and one assist in eight appearances, having only been afforded 427 minutes of pitch time.
Meanwhile, on the international scene, he’s racked up 15 goals in 30 appearances for DR Congo.
The Prospects
By his own admission, Mbokani will need time to get up to speed and match fitness, given that he’s yet to feature in a competitive fixture this season. When he does, Alex Neil may well consider starting him as the lone striker in his favoured 4-1-4-1 set-up, with Cameron Jerome yet to stamp his authority on the role.
Although Jerome notched an impressive 18 goals in 43 outings for the Canaries in the Championship last term, his previous three seasons in the Premier League (two with Stoke City, one with Birmingham City) produced a combined total of 10 goals. Granted, the Huddersfield-born striker was unfortunate that his acrobatic goal against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 1 was wrongly disallowed, yet only time will tell whether he’s capable of scoring at a consistent enough basis at this level to retain his starting berth.
Delving deeper into Mbokani’s statistics from the 2013/14 campaign, he racked up seven goals and four assists in his final ten appearances, before carding three goals and one assist across his five starts last term – allaying fears that his performances are on a steep decline.
At 6.0, Mbokani has a lot to prove if he’s going to become a factor on the Fantasy scene. Aside from the fact he needs to usurp Jerome and start scoring from the get-go, the mid-priced striker is vying against the likes of Callum Wilson (5.7) and Jamie Vardy (6.1) – who have already emerged as attractive picks in that bracket – for our attention.
Although their attacking figures took a hit after playing the majority of their last encounter with ten men following Steven Whittaker’s red card, the Canaries have fashioned enough chances to suggest that a clinical striker could flourish under Neil’s stewardship: the Norfolk outfit rank seventh for chances created (43) and joint-first for big chances (nine), while only six clubs have fired off more attempts (61).
Ultimately, Mbokani needs to enjoy the security of starts and a promising run of form before Fantasy managers will be willing to loosen their purse strings. A strong set of fixtures over the next six Gameweeks (BOU, liv, whu, LEI, new, WBA) ensures that Norwich’s attacking contingent will be monitored closely after the international break, but if Neil chooses to ease the new boy into life in the Premier League, many will steer clear and reassess once he cements a regular role.
Further Reference
Dieumerci Mbokani Wikipedia Page
