Norwich City offers Dean Smith a Premier League lifeline

It appears we have not seen the last of Dean Smith in the English Premier League; no more than a week has gone by and the former Villa boss finds himself at Carrow Road with Norwich City, as per reports.

The Premier League is well and truly back to its dramatic best! As little as four months into the 2021/22 campaign and we already have five managerial sackings with another two to three clubs’ hierarchy closely monitoring things on the pitch and also considering if a change is required at the helm.

Deam Smith, the man in discussion today and one who has taken a full 360 turn in his managerial career, sees himself finding new life after what some saw as the most shocking dismissal of the pair of manager departures in most recent weeks.

As per Jacob Steinberg, Smith has agreed to a two-and-a-half-year deal with the club.

"Norwich City are set to appoint Dean Smith as their new manager. The Premier League’s bottom club reached an agreement with Smith after a weekend of negotiations and are expected to announce the deal on Monday.Smith, who is poised to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal, boasts an impressive CV and has impressed Norwich with his vision for the club during negotiations. (Via: theguardian.com)"

Dean Smith’s first game in charge with Norwich City

The 50-year-old will only have a week to work with his new squad before their next EPL outing. What certainly has the Canaries sceptical about Smith’s employment: he leaves Villa Park with a low win rate of 32.2%, clocking in 28 wins of the 87 top-flight games in charge in England.

"Smith leaves the club having won 28 of his 87 Premier League games in charge (32.2%) and with an overall win rate of 39.6% from his 139 games. (Via: BBC.com)"

The Canaries first game back from the final international break, they will host an in-form Southampton team who are unbeaten in their last four league games.

Applying pressure on him on his Norwich debut, the Saints have won in both of the last league meetings between the pair and are unbeaten against Norwich in their last four across all competitions.

Sitting last place in the EPL standings and five points away from safety, the job for top-flight survival is not an impossible achievement to obtain but will be a difficult one, no doubt.

But Southampton could be a good place to start and a good time for redemption — the St. Mary’s club the team that placed the final nail in his time at Villa Park after his side last 1-0 to them.