It seems like one of those transfers that was destined to happen. Bristol Rovers are in need of a striker who can hit the ground running and one appears on the free market who also happens to be a friend of Joey Barton and former teammate of Andy Mangan.
James Norwood, of course, may not end up a Gashead, with an offer also on the table from Oxford United who could - with reason - state they have a greater chance of finishing higher up the table due to their consistency in the division under Karl Robinson.
But Barton isn't one for just settling for something at Rovers and his ambitions will be high, and how he presents those aims even higher in how he pitches to prospective new signings.
With his Ipswich Town contract having expired, Norwood is expected to make a decision on his future in the next few days, as pre-season has kicked off around the league. To find out more about the 31-year-old, we spoke to Andy Warren, Ipswich writer at the East Anglian Daily Times who has watched Norwood extensively over the last three seasons.
What kind of striker is James Norwood?
Put simply, he's a goalscorer. That's what he's on the pitch to do. He plays off the cuff and improvises a bit but, at his best, he's in the right place at the right time to finish. It's not always pretty but when he's on song he's really effective.
What are his strengths and weaknesses?
First big strength would be how hard he works. He puts everything into every game and enjoys battling away with defenders, both physically and verbally. He's a good finisher both with feet and head (and sometimes his chest) and can also pop up and link play a bit as well. He's capable of picking a really nice through-ball if he's dropped deep.
In terms of weaknesses, we've seen periods for him where chances, particularly one-on-ones, can go missing but if he's playing in a team which creates he will always be a threat. The problem at Ipswich is, for most of his time here, he was playing up top for a team which simply couldn't create the volume of chances you would expect teams at the top end of the division to manage. That's why they never managed to actually be at the top end of League One.
By his own admission he's not the most talented of footballers and can have games where his touch simply isn't there or can go through quiet spells, but you will always get the base level of hard work and the potential for him to land on the end of a chance inside the box.
Is there a particular style of play or service that would suit him best?
He's fairly adaptable I'd say, but he's always looked best for me when playing in a team who can move the ball quickly and get it into dangerous areas regularly. He didn't always have that here.
In the past three seasons, he has not played more than 30 league games. Was that due to injury problems or other factors?
Injuries were an issue in the first season, with two groin operations holding him back. He later revealed he was playing at around 50 per cent as a result. Then some hamstring trouble caused issues in season two. Year three was a little more complicated, with a period of exile from the first-team as senior figures at the club tired of off-the-field distractions which came with Norwood. A long-running drink-drive charge didn't help there.
Despite all that, I'd argue he was the best striker at the club throughout the entire period he was here.
What kind of character is he?
Interesting. Definitely interesting. He's not your usual footballer and that's something I really enjoyed personally. He wasn't for everyone but I found it quite refreshing.
He's very open on social media and often raised a smile by posting videos of the bizarre situations he got himself into, while also being more than willing to bite back at any abuse which came his way.
That's sometimes mistaken for him being too much of a joker and not taking his football seriously enough, but that's not the case at all. Once the football switch flips with him he's entirely down to business. He got himself in top shape by the end of his time here.
How do you reflect on his time with Ipswich?
With a sense of 'what if?', really. I don't think we saw the best of Norwood here, not consistently, anyway. Injury played a part in that, as did some of the off-field stuff, but mainly I would say that was down to playing in three very disappointing Ipswich sides during his years here.
With the players Town have had since dropping down to League One, it's dreadful that they've not managed to finish higher than ninth. He's definitely capable of being a good performer at League One level.
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