Forget Aarons – This 22-year-old Dutchman would be a perfect replacement and Norwich must get him

Why Kevin Diks would be a good replacement for Max Aarons at Norwich City

Norwich City did a world of good to their chances of securing automatic promotion to the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over rivals Leeds United. It has been a wonderful season for the Canaries in the second tier, with manager Daniel Farke being a key influence in the club’s surge for promotion.

In all honesty, Norwich have played one of the most attractive brands of football in the Championship this season and it is not a surprise to see them on top of the standings at this point. While Teemu Pukki has spearheaded Norwich’s challenge this season, scoring 18 goals and setting up another 5 from 27 appearances.

The Finnish international has been well supported by the likes of Onel Hernández, Jordan Rhodes and Marco Stiepermann, all of whom have chipped in with valuable goals and assists.

The Canaries have looked quite solid defensively as well, with Christoph Zimmermann and Timm Klose forming a formidable pairing at the heart of the defence. However, the Canaries should start preparing for life without one of the breakout stars, Max Aarons.

The youngster has been one of the revelations of the Championship this season and his consistently impressive displays have attracted the attention of Tottenham.

While Norwich face the risk of losing one of their highly-rated youngsters, they should start pursuing 22-year-old Dutchman Kevin Diks.

A youth product of Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem, Diks made his senior professional debut back in 2014 and he was snapped up by Serie A club Fiorentina a couple of years later. However, he never really got a fair crack of the whip in Italy and spent time on loan in the Eredivisie with Vitesse and Feyenoord. The 22-year-old was loaned out to fellow Serie A club Empoli in the January transfer window.

Despite making eyeballs turn with his sparkling performances in the Dutch top -flight, Diks hasn’t been able to establish himself as a regular starter at Fiorentina and a move away from his current club might help him relaunch his career.

Standing at just a shade under 6ft, Diks is known for his versatility to play in multiple positions across the backline. Essentially a right-back by trade, he has also been used on the left-hand side of the defence and as a winger.

Diks not only has the aggression and the mentality to adapt to the demands of English football but he is also fast, agile and skilful enough to make his mark at the highest level.

The 22-year-old is not afraid to stick his foot out for a challenge and he also has the pace and the crossing ability to make an impact in the other half of the pitch.

Norwich can rely on the likes of Ivo Pinto and Ben Marshall should Aarons head for the exit door next summer but the Canaries would do a world of good to their squad depth by signing the former Dutch U21 international.

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That said, they should not hesitate to splash the cash on him irrespective of whether they manage to secure promotion.