Norwich City have confirmed the signing of Spanish wide player Borja Sainz on a free transfer.
The 22-year-old has signed a three year deal and becomes the fourth senior signing of the summer for the Canaries after Ashley Barnes, Jack Stacey and Shane Duffy.
The ex-Alaves youth product exercised a relegation clause in recent days to leave former Turkish Super Lig club Giresunspor.
Sainz produced 13 goal contributions in 32 league appearances last season after moving from Spain last summer for a reported €2.2m.
“I’m very happy to belong to this great club. What I’ve seen has been amazing. I’ve liked it very much," he said, speaking to the Canaries' official site, with the transfer subject to international clearance.
“I’ve been told about the club. I knew about it from its time in the Premier League and I’m very impressed as well. Everything is very professional, very nice people and I’ve never seen facilities as good as what is here.
“As a player, I like the one-on-ones. I’m very vertical, I like to score goals and also help in defence. I hope this would be a good year for the team.
“In the end, I’m here to help the team. It’s a great club and I’ll give my best to help it to succeed.”
In a surprise to absolutely nobody, we have completed the signing of Borja Sainz. 😀
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) June 30, 2023
Bienvenido, Borja 🇪🇸
The Spaniard, who made 40 La Liga appearances for Alaves earlier in his career, will further bolster Wagner’s options in wide areas, with Onel Hernandez, Jon Rowe, Tony Springett, Christos Tzolis and Przemyslaw Placheta all back in pre-season training.
"We’re very pleased to welcome Borja to our squad," added the City head coach. "He’s a young player, but already has good minutes in the top levels in both Turkey and Spain.
“We’re really pleased to have completed his signing so that he can start work with us at this stage of pre-season and learn his role in our team.
“When I spoke with him you could really feel his desire to come in and make an impact. He is hungry to prove himself and exactly the kind of player we want to have in our group.”
The transfer is subject to international clearance and approval from the regulatory governing bodies.
Fellow winger Milot Rashica expected to depart this summer.
Rashica won the title with Galatasaray during a season long loan, and reports in the Turkish media claim key Gala official Erden Timur is in England for transfer negotiations on a range of business that include the Kosovan international.
The bulk of the Canaries' squad returned to Colney this week. Norwich embark on a programme of pre-season friendlies on Tuesday July 4 with a trip to non league Barnet, that could offer City fans the first sight of Sainz.
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