Striker set to sign on July 1 subject to paperwork

NORWICH City can confirm that a deal has been agreed to sign Dutch international striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon for an undisclosed fee, subject to the relevant paperwork being completed.The 24-year old, who is set to arrive on July 1 on a four-year contract, boasts an impressive goalscoring record across Europe, scoring 82 goals in 188 appearances for Sporting, FC Utrecht and Vitesse Arnhem.Speaking exclusively to www.canaries.co.uk, Chris Hughton commented: “Ricky’s profile is a perfect fit for us – he’s young, ambitious and a proven goal-scorer.“He has an excellent goal-scoring pedigree and he’s a young man very keen to continue his personal progression and to play in England. He’s already an exciting talent but he still has more development as a player ahead of him.“I’m delighted we’ve been able to agree a deal with Sporting Lisbon and with Ricky and we look forward to welcoming him to the squad in July, once all of the paperwork gets sorted out.”Van Wolfswinkel has established himself as a bright striking talent in recent years after two prosperous seasons with Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon since signing for €5.1 million from FC Utrecht in June 2011.Last season Van Wolfswinkel bagged 25 goals for Sporting in all competitions and has added 14 for them so far in what has been a more challenging 2013-14 campaign for the Lisbon side.It was his form with Dutch Eredivisie outfit FC Utrecht where he first caught the eye of European scouts however and collected a first cap for the Netherlands. In two seasons the 6 ft 2 striker scored 35 goals in 80 appearances.Van Wolfswinkel started his career with Vitesse Arnhem having joined them as a youngster in 1999. After working his way through the youth academy he made his senior debut in 2008 and went on to score eight goals in 35 appearances.