Alex Neil opened Norwichโs cheque book for the first time this January by acquiring right-back Ivo Pinto from Dinamo Zagreb for an undisclosed fee. Having turned down numerous offers from abroad, the 26-year-old – who arrives at Carrow Road on a three-and-a-half year contract โ reckons his style of play is perfectly suited to the Premier League:
โEnglish football is very fast and very intense for the whole game. That matches me well because my best qualities as a player are being fast and intense too. What can the fans expect? They can expect from me that I will give all I have in every minute of a game and I will not disappoint them. The Champions League is the best competition in the world. I have some experience of that and at the age of 26 I have played against some of the best teams in the world and it has given me more confidence and that can help me and the teamโ.
The History
Pinto played youth football for a handful of local clubs before joining Portoโs academy back in 2008. The defender failed to convince in his new surrounds, though, and was farmed out to a trio of lower league Portuguese sides over the following two seasons before Rio Ave acquired his services in 2011/12.
Yet again, the right-back was loaned out by his parent club without playing a single match. After turning out 25 times for another lower league side, Uniao Leiria, he signed for Romania outfit CFR Cluj in 2012/13, where he went on to produce four assists in 27 outings.
Pinto’s exploits quickly persuaded Dinamo Zagreb to snap up his services the following year. Over the course of three seasons in Croatia, his raids down the right helped deliver 11 assists as he went on to win two league titles, in addition to a Croatian Cup and Super Cup.
On the international stage, Pinto has represented Portugal on 30 occasions from Under 16 to Under 21 level, though heโs never been picked for the senior side.
The Prospects
Having confirmed the deal earlier in the week, Canaries boss Neil wasted little time in talking up Pintoโs talents, with the defenders recent showings in the Champions League persuading the Scot to splash the cash:
โOne of the things which helped us sign him is that he was involved in the Champions League. We watched him in the flesh at Arsenal when he played against the likes of Alexis Sanchez and we watched him against Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich so we have seen him against a high calibre of opposition. We know his history and he was quoted as the best right back in the Croatian league last season. So, we have done our homework on him, we have covered all the bases and we are hoping he is going to come in and have a real impact. He is the perfect age and he has still got his best years ahead of him so he ticks all the boxes.โ
The right-back berth has been a problem area for Norwich this term, with Russell Martin, Steven Whittaker and on-loan Andre Wisdom all being afforded a handful of chances to impress. Given his managerโs praise, though, Pinto can be expected to nail down a regular role, with skipper Martin moving back into central defence alongside Seb Bassong, with Ryan Bennett – who has started 10 of the last 11 Gameweeks at centre-half โ perhaps struggling to maintain a regular role.
Although Norwich have managed just three clean sheets all season, itโs worth noting that two of those occurred in each of the last couple of Gameweeks. Indeed, all three have been accrued in the previous five matches at Carrow Road โ a run that has seen them concede just twice in front of their own fans from Gameweek 12 onwards. Neilโs recent change in tactics has seen his side concede just nine goals in as many Gameweeks โ only four teams have been breached on fewer occasions.
Likely to come in around the 4.5-mark in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Pinto arrives at a time where the Canaries are in the midst of their best form of the campaign. Norwich have won three of their last four โ including a 2-1 triumph at Old Trafford โ and have also drawn against both Arsenal and Everton in the previous seven encounters, so itโd be remiss to write off their prospects entirely.
Looking at the schedule, the next six Gameweeks offers up trips to Stoke, Bournemouth and Villa โ teams that have struggled for goals of late โ whilst Neilโs men will be hoping they can maintain their recent home form as Liverpool, Spurs and West Ham make their way to Norfolk.
Given that the 3%-owned Martin sits joint-top for goals scored (three) amongst defenders, heโs likely to continue as Norwich’s most popular Fantasy asset at the back. Pintoโs lack of attacking output for his previous clubs means heโs set to remain off our radars, though if the Canaries can maintain their current levels of resilience, Neilโs defensive regulars may yet prove worthy of consideration.
