The £4m Norwich City transfer bullet that Everton dodged | OneFootball

Norwich City signed Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe in the 2014 summer window and it did not work out

Norwich City were hoping to fight for promotion straight back to the Premier League when they splashed the cash to sign Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe from Club Brugge in 2014.

The Canaries paid a reported £4 million to sign the Belgian in the final days of the summer transfer window, with the Championship campaign already underway by that point.

Neil Adams’ side had been relegated by just three points, finishing just behind West Brom, and were targeting an immediate return to the division in 2015.

As a result, the club brought in the likes of Odjidja-Ofoe, Kyle Lafferty, Lewis Grabban, Cameron Jerome and Louis Thompson, among others.

It was a busy transfer period for the Norfolk outfit, and they were ultimately rewarded with play-off success under Alex Neil, who took charge in January 2015.

However, the arrival from Club Brugge didn’t have the greatest of impacts in their promotion success, and he eventually made just 15 league appearances for the club across two seasons before departing for Legia Warsaw in 2016.

Everton dodged £4m bullet with Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe transfer

Norwich’s deal for Odjidja-Ofoe didn’t prove worthwhile, and Everton will be glad that it didn’t work out given how close they came to signing him two years prior.

The Toffees were reportedly four minutes from sealing a deal for the midfielder from Club Brugge before the move collapsed.

The midfielder opened up on the situation in 2017, suggesting his career could’ve been very different had he made the move to Merseyside.

He revealed that a registration issue scuppered the move to join David Moyes’ side, and that he felt the deal was deliberately sabotaged.

"The transfer was registered four minutes too late," said Odjidja-Ofoe, via IB Times.

"Had I signed for Everton a day earlier, my career would be completely different.

"On the last day of the window, I was ready to sign somewhere.

"Five minutes before midnight, my agent got the green light. I signed a blank contract.

"I didn't even know how much I'd earn or how long I'd be staying.

"We had to talk with Everton about that.

"Later, I learned that someone had deliberately blocked my transfer."

However, Norwich supporters will dispute that his career would’ve turned out much differently given how little he achieved during his spell at Carrow Road.

The midfielder played five times as the Canaries earned promotion in 2015 through the play-offs, with only one of those appearances coming as a starter.

While he also featured in 10 Premier League games, he started just three times, contributed two assists and the Norfolk outfit ultimately went straight back down to the Championship.

Everton, meanwhile, will be glad the deal didn’t work out, as they were saved from wasting their money on someone who proved a poor signing at a cost of £4 million to Norwich.

Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe wasn’t suited to English football

Odjidja-Ofoe spent a month on loan with Rotherham United in September 2015, but he only played four times before his time was cut short permanently with his move to Legia Warsaw in 2016.

The midfielder fared better in Polish football, playing 31 times as the club won the Ekstraklasa, contributing an impressive four goals and 12 assists.

This led to him signing for Olympiacos, where he again spent just one season before signing for Gent in 2018.

During five years back in his native Belgium, Odjidja-Ofoe made 121 league appearances, and helped the club finish fifth on four occasions, as well as a second place result in 2020.

While it didn’t work out for the Belgian during his time in England, and Everton will be glad they avoided his signature, he still made things work on the continent.

Perhaps things could’ve worked out at Norwich with better luck, particularly with injuries hurting his time at Carrow Road, but his move ultimately proved a waste of valuable resources and the evidence is that he just wasn't suited to the English game at the time he made his transfer.