Norwich City record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel reveals Dutch World Cup dream
Norwich's club-record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel at Carrow Road on Monday afternoon after his official unveiling. PHOTO BY SIMON FINLAY. - Credit: Archant Norfolk
Norwich City's club-record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel is in no doubt the Canaries can help him fulfil his World Cup ambition.
The 24-year-old was officially unveiled at Carrow Road on Monday lunchtime and van Wolfswinkel is convinced a positive debut season for his new club in the Premier League can be the lauchpad to make Holland's 2014 World Cup squad.
The former Sporting Lisbon striker earned his third full cap for Louis van Gaal's star-studded senior side earlier this summer on a Far East tour.
'It would be great to be there (at the World Cup), for me and also for the club, for Norwich to have their players in the national teams,' he said. 'For me, it is of course a decision to go to Norwich for the future, to be there for the World Cup, but my main focus is Norwich.
'The Dutch squad is something extra now, and I need to develop myself here, to score goals will be important for the team, then the national team will come later. The Portuguese League is not on the TV in Holland, the Premier League is every day, so more people see you, and if you are in the news performing well, then the (Holland) coaches will see you also.'
Delighted City chief Chris Hughton praised the work of the club's board to bring the Dutchman to Norfolk.
'It seems like quite some time ago but Ricky is one we have scouted for a long time now,' he said. 'Of course he is someone I have known about not just from his days in Portugal from even before then when he was first coming through in Holland. Right the way through he has always scored goals. It is not just the goals he has scored but his general participation in the teams he has played for. We just looked at him and felt he had some very good characteristics to play here in the Premier League.
Most Read
- 1 Norfolk village named among poshest places to live in UK
- 2 Weather warning as thunderstorms expected to hit Norfolk after heatwave
- 3 Flood alerts pass off peacefully along the north Norfolk coast
- 4 Weather warning extended as thunderstorms set to hit Norfolk after heatwave
- 5 9 celebrities who have been spotted in Norfolk in 2022
- 6 'Not our problem' - Tyre mountain boss exports 350 tonnes of rubber 'I know not where'
- 7 Cromer Carnival events cancelled due to extreme heat.
- 8 Revealed: Why wasps chase you and how to get rid of them this summer
- 9 Woman 'shocked' to find CCTV in Marina Centre changing room
- 10 Highway obstruction closes part of A1151 near Wroxham
'Of course you are also looking at the individual and the character of the person. He has always been part of a team ethic, but you still have to have the opportunity to go and get the player. I have to thank David and the board and everyone here behind-the-scenes for making it possible.'