Norwich’s Moscow scouting mission could be significant

Norwich sent a scout to Moscow on Sunday to watch the derby clash between Lokomotiv and Spartak, although the reason for the trip is open to speculation. The Russian Federal News agency understands Spartak midfielder Alex Kral was the focus for three of the four Premier League clubs scouting the match – a 3-0 win for his Spartak side.
The 21-year-old midfielder no doubt impressed English scouts when he got the better of Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson in the midfield skirmishes when the Czech Republic beat Gareth Southgate’s men 2-1 earlier this month.
Newcastle, Burnley, Brighton and Norwich scouted the Moscow derby on Sunday, but there are reasons to believe City’s focus was elsewhere.
Firstly, Norwich need a player like Kral now – but he cannot transfer clubs again in January because he has already played for two different sides since August.
And it has never been City sporting director Stuart Webber’s style to get involved in an auction with big-spending Premier League clubs.
The Canaries are instead known for their shrewd recruitment of players who may have fallen off the radar of other clubs – or never been on it.
It seems unlikely Norwich would send a scout all that way without at least one more worthy option on the table – and that player could be Benedikt Howedes.
The Lokomotiv centre-back could be an interesting one because, at 31, the window is closing on him ever playing in the Premier League.
The 2014 World Cup winner spent 16 years at Schalke, where he played alongside Teemu Pukki and Ralf Fahrmann, until being shown the door in 2017.
His experience would be a huge addition to the City dressing room battling to avoid the drop and in need of fit central defenders.
However, it’s never straightforward and Howedes recently told the German media that he would like to finish his career nearer to home, which could scupper any hopes Daniel Farke might have of luring him to Norfolk.