Amongst all the big money Championship signings is a young Czech winger who cost approximately 5.8 million pounds from Czech giants Slavia Prague, but he is majorly unknown and rarely spoken about for various reasons.
The player in question is Norwich City right winger Matej Jurasek, who arrived in January this year, amongst massive hype from their supporters. However, he has only featured in three competitive games since joining and been an unused substitute in another two games, only playing a total of 92 minutes, but how and why did we get to this point?
How we got here – Matej Jurasek and his time in Prague
The 21-year-old made his professional debut at the age of 17 in November 2020, having been on the fringes of the team in the first half of the 2020/2021 season, playing three games, before going out on loan for the second half of the season.
His proper first team breakthrough came in the 2022/2023 campaign. He came on as a substitute in the 54th minute against Gibraltarian side St Jospeh’s on the way to an 11-0 win on aggregate, 7-0 on the night, in a Europa Conference League qualifier, which marked the start of his foray into becoming a regular first-team player for the club. Matej Jurasek assisted their final goal of the night, for fellow substitute Ibrahim Traore. He went on to make 31 appearances in all competitions that season, notching seven goals and four assists in the process.
Matej Jurasek then produced similar numbers the following season, playing two more games, while scoring eight goals and claiming another three assists in all competitions. These performances earned him a callup to the senior Czech Republic side for the first time, being a part of the squad at the EUROs in Germany last year, featuring as a substitute in two out of three seasons as they finished bottom of their group with only one point, a draw against Georgia.
He has made four appearances so far for his country’s senior side in a career, with his only goal coming against Malta in a 7-1 victory in a friendly.
Matej Jurasek started last season at Slavia Prague, making 24 appearances, mostly as a substitute, where he scored only twice and assisted three times too. However, it was enough to get a move to Norwich City and English football.
Present-day Norwich City struggles
Matej Jurasek completed his move to the Canaries on the 16th of January, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal. However, he wasn’t allowed to join up with the squad until February due to post-Brexit regulations but spent that time training individually with Norwich City coach Louis Cunningham in Prague
He then made his debut for the club in a 1-0 home defeat to Preston North End on the 11th of February, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute. He quickly made a positive impression, with his direct pace offering a different type of threat.
This positive cameo was awarded with a start next game as then-manager Johannes Hoff Thorup took his side to the MKM stadium to face Hull City, as they played a 1-1 draw with Jurasek being subbed off in the 65th minute, being replaced by loanee Lewis Dobbin, who had also joined that winter and made a positive impact before his season-ending injury later on in the campaign.
What then followed that game was full of mystery, as Matej Jurasek seemed to be nowhere to be seen, with a range of reasons from small injuries to lack of match-fitness given for his absence. He then had a small hernia operation at the end of the season in preparation for the new campaign.
His absence from the first team provoked speculation amongst the Norwich fanbase, with some fans jokingly using the hashtag “#wheresjurasek” on social media, and it seems that there are problems further down than injury, with himself known by people to have bad influences around him, causing him to prioritise other things over his playing career, stemming from his latter time at Slavia Prague.
Matej Jurasek played a little bit during pre-season, scoring against League One side Northampton Town, while playing for spells in other games here and there. However, it is known internally that he doesn’t put much effort in training despite having the qualities that he posseses. This was reflected after the opening day defeat against Millwall, with new manager Liam Manning saying that he needs to show that he is ready for selection and that there was no fitness issue at all.
A brief appearance in the Carabao Cup against Watford at Vicarage Road followed this, as Manning opted for a strong side, while other players were also given a chance. He was left out of the squad again last Saturday against Portsmouth at Fratton Park, but Manning gave a much more positive update post-match:
“It’s a tough one on Matej Jurasek, to be fair, because his level in training, especially the last few days (before Portsmouth), was really, really good. As much as I’d love to pick everybody, because it would make my life 10 times easier, I can say he’s very much in our plans and our thoughts. He’s just someone that we’re pushing”, Manning said
“You have to understand that he missed a large period of time, so the level that we’d all love him to come back at becomes quite difficult. He’s pushing hard and he worked really hard at Watford. He’s someone who has got some attributes I really like. Matej is very much part of it, and at the right time you’ll see him.”
Final thoughts
It is also worth noting that Matej Jurasek is very highly rated within the club, shown by him having the number 10 shirt, and recent indications show that we may not be too far off finally being able to see the Czech international on a consistent basis for the first time since joining the club. Should Matej Jurasek have a good season, the club would very likely demand a fee of in the region of £20 million, especially with his contract expiring in 2030. He is certainly one to look out for, so do not forget the name…
