The door to the Norwich City first team is open for Sebastian Soto if he can impress Daniel Farke.
Soto has been recalled from a prolific goalscoring spell on loan at Dutch second tier club, SC Telstar, that also brought a senior international debut for the USA.
City officials are in the process of securing a work permit for the 20-year-old, with Farke keen to run the rule over the Californian before the end of the transfer window.
“Let’s wait firstly for his work permit and then he can show himself in a few training sessions and we can learn a bit more about him,” he said. “Then perhaps we make a late decision in this transfer window, whether he stays with us or perhaps a different loan on a more competitive level than the second tier in Holland.
"We feel right now is the right time to bring him back.
“It looks good business. He is a lad with plenty of potential but he is not a short-term solution for the first team. But everything is possible, every player who is here gets an opportunity. Let’s not put too much pressure on his shoulders.
"He will get all the time to develop and then it is up to him to shine - to either step through the door or whether he must be more patient. It is important to calm the expectations.”
Todd Cantwell previously blossomed into a Premier League star for the Canaries after an impressive loan spell in the same Dutch league.
“We don’t have to get over-excited. He is coming back as part of the under-23 group with the potential to help the first team,” said Farke. “Let’s be realistic. He was at Hannover last season, who were fighting to avoid relegation from the second tier, and he was not even close to the team.
"We saw lots of potential from what he has done at a younger level and that is why we signed him. He had a really good loan at Telstar where he scored several goals and was also involved with the senior US squad.”
Cantwell has been in sparkling form in City’s rise to the top of the Championship but misses Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie with a hamstring issue.
“We actually think it is a back problem that is causing him some hamstring issues,” said Farke. “He felt it towards the end of the Bristol game and this turnaround is a bit too quick. He will definitely miss this game. I don’t think it is too serious. He mentioned after about 70 minutes he had this issue and signalled to be substituted but then Mario Vrancic had some cramps and wanted to be substituted. So we had to change our plans and then Todd said he could go further on.
"We got him off in the very last minutes and he has been scanned and everything looks okay and he was still able to sprint in that late stage of the game.
"We think it might be the back and we will have to look at that. Maybe a question of days than weeks and I expect him to be ready for Middlesbrough.”
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