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Picking the bones: Who West Ham should buy off Norwich

By Adam Smith

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Todd Cantwell of Norwich City during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Bramall Lane on February 22, 2020 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ben Early - AMA/Getty Images)
SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Todd Cantwell of Norwich City during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Bramall Lane on February 22, 2020 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ben Early - AMA/Getty Images) /
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If there is relegation, West Ham have plenty of options to pick from to boost their squad depth. In the hopes of finding the next buried superstar, here is who the Hammers should target from Norwich!

There are two options for West Ham to consider if they are going bargain shopping to the relegation-threatened Norwich City. Considering the weaknesses of their own squad, central midfield and defensive depth are where the Hammers should target and the Canaries have solid options at both.

Todd Cantwell

A genuine talent in central midfield, the English jack-of-all-trades for Norwich City, Todd Cantwell, will be a Premier League talent along the same lines of potentially James Maddison and Jack Grealish, and should already be looked at as an up-and-comer to chase and England midfield position.

This season, Cantwell has tallied six goals and two assists in an offensively challenged squad. Outside of himself and Teemu Pukki, there isn’t a ton of proven goalscoring quality. Despite a lack of help, Cantwell still finds space to get forward in support of his striker, and chips in from the midfield at a very solid rate.

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On the other side of the ball, Cantwell is also a solid defender and great passer, too. WhoScored.com’s defensive ranking of Cantwell, a career attacking midfielder, grades him at 6.71 in their defensive overall category, well above the league average. Averaging 1.3 tackles, .0 clearances, and 1.1 key passes per game, Cantwell would be a great addition to sit ahead of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek on the pitch.

Jamaal Lewis

Another 22-year-old player getting on quite well in Norwich’s promotion season, Jamal Lewis could be the perfect player to add in West Ham’s left-back depth chart. Immediately he’s challenge Aaron Cresswell to start, and he fits in David Moyes’ directive of being under 25 and of British descent (Northern Irish international).

There is still plenty of growing Lewis needs to do. In his first season, he’s been solid at left-back for the Canaries and is honing in a growing international career for Northern Ireland where he’s already played in six matches for the senior team. Capable of getting up and down the pitch, modestly chipping in offensively (one assist this season), and being defensively responsible, Lewis could be the needed player from Norwich for Moyes.

Under manager Daniel Farke, Lewis has built on his impressive debut season where he scored a late winning goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup replay. He’s dealt with defensive issues and has worked on the required balance of playing the fullback position at the highest levels.

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Honourable mentions for Norwich include Max Aarons the star right-back, Emiliano Buendia the offensive playmaker, and Ben Godfrey the English centre-back prospect. However, both Cantwell and Lewis would be ideal in a quick rebuild of the West Ham team under David Moyes.