Expert insight into Rangers new boy Todd Cantwell who will ‘relish the Ibrox environment’ after Norwich City struggles

Rangers are in the transfer market for new attacking players as boss Michael Beale looks to put his own stamp on the first-team squad.

Todd Cantwell, Morgan Whittaker and Nicolas Raskin have all been strongly linked with the Ibrox club in recent weeks as Beale attempts to bring in some new long-term recruits this month.

Norwich City midfielder Cantwell - a former England Under-21 international who is aiming to kick-start his career again in Glasgow - is expected to be confirmed as the Gers first January arrival.

To help get the lowdown on what kind of player he is, GlasgowWorld spoke to chief Norwich City reporter Connor Southwell, who covers the Canaries on a daily basis for the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News. He has witnessed Cantwell’s career evolve from being one of the hottest properties in England to falling completely off the radar at the EFL Championship club.

Why has Todd Cantwell’s playing career taken a major dip?

“There are a multitude of reasons - some known, others aren’t as public. In terms of on the pitch, Cantwell has been unable to replicate the levels witnessed in the 2019/20 campaign. Transfer speculation then led him down a tricky path and he’s spoken publically about how difficult that was to handle.

“Daniel Farke left both Cantwell and Emi Buendia out of his matchday squad for a trip to Bournemouth in September 2020 due to them not being 100% focused. Towards the end of that season, he began to lift his performance levels but he was always in the shadows of Buendia during that title-winning season. The following year, after Buendia’s club-record departure, many assumed Cantwell could fulfil that role. But there was a disagreement with Farke, Cantwell was banished to train with the U21s and didn’t play under the German again.

“Dean Smith’s arrival marked a clean slate for him - he started in his first game against Southampton but was hauled off at half-time and looked short of fitness. Again, Smith eventually went with different options and Cantwell departed to Bournemouth on a season-long loan with an option to make that deal permanent for around £8million. Scott Parker decided against it after Cantwell didn’t play the amount of minutes that all parties may have liked.

“A return to Norwich followed - they activated a year’s option to extend his deal and there was a willingness to give it a chance to work at Carrow Road but it hasn’t gone to plan.”

Why has Cantwell been unable to get into the first-team line-up this season?

“This season, the shortcomings haven’t arrived due a lack of application or endeavour on both sides. It just hasn’t quite worked. He hasn’t recorded a goal or assist in 18 appearances. After such a prolonged relationship, the common consensus is that he needs to revive his career elsewhere.

“The talent has never been in question but, for various reasons, they have struggled to unlock it on a consistent basis. He will hope that a move to Rangers enables him to discover that - being the local lad at a football club and being so emotionally connected isn’t always a positive thing. So lots of mitigation. But he just needs a run of matches and some confidence. I think he will relish the environment at Ibrox.”

What can Rangers fans can expect from a fully-fit Todd Cantwell?

“He has to prove that he can kick on and display the talent that he has as a midfielder. That player hasn’t been seen since, yet the memory of those performances have certainly followed him around. They acted as the benchmark that people felt was the norm – in truth, his time at Norwich shows that patch of form was the exception to the rule.

“Delve into the raw numbers and they show that in 129 games, Cantwell has scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists. However you look at it, those numbers aren’t befitting a player who was once being touted for a £30million-plus transfer. Cantwell, being the talent that he is, may well head up to Scotland and find that spark. He could look instantly a better player and go on to have the career many plotted for him after that Premier League campaign.

“He isn’t a flash in the pan. But he finds those narratives clinging on to his name. He now has to shake them off through performances on the pitch at Rangers. Cantwell has become somewhat of an enigma. Every coach has been tasked with extracting that natural talent that is so obviously present but has been rarely seen over the last year and a half.

“Every Norwich fan has willed him to come back to his best, the hope was he could complete a redemption arc and that his story in Norfolk, his home after all, would end in triumph and glory. Instead, it’s an exit and not one that Norwich fans will be really pleased about - disappointment surrounds the last 18 months. But, at his best, he is a match-winner and a real talent. If Michael Beale can unlock that then his price tag will rise quickly.”