Many anticipated that Placheta would be among the options that moved on as Norwich sought to shed some of the squad that underperformed throughout last season.
Even though not directly involved in that underwhelming campaign, the Polish winger was occupying the periphery of the squad and a route to the first-team under David Wagner looked difficult to navigate.
At the beginning of the summer, there was talk that Norwich would be open to both permanent and loan offers for Placheta. There was interest from overseas, but nothing serious materialised despite links with a return to Poland.
Ultimately, Norwich opted to sanction a loan move for Christos Tzolis and retain Placheta after his productive pre-season campaign.
Since he’s been at Norwich, Placheta has been admired by all three head coaches. Daniel Farke and Dean Smith both liked his attributes, even if they proved unable to extract productivity out of him consistently.
Wagner and his coaching team have committed themselves to his development. Placheta is utilising his speed better and beginning to look to play in central areas, something that hasn’t been evident in his game beforehand.
That blistering pace that he is synonymous with has been curbed and utilised more effectively rather than in the frenetic nature that was witnessed in his performances beforehand. He’s transitioned from an athlete into an effective footballer.
City’s boss has also attempted to convert him into a left back, believing his pace and attributes can make him a credible option in his desired system, where full backs are heavily involved in attacking situations and stretching the pitch.
Placheta impressed in midweek during a Carabao Cup defeat at Fulham – that performance was rewarded with his first league start of the campaign against the club where his last one arrived back in August 2022.
On a personal level, it makes the end of a lengthy lay-off for the Polish international. An injury that left him sidelined for a significant portion of time.
That came just over a year after the Covid-related issues that saw him sidelined due to fears for his heart.
That maybe gets to the core of his inconsistency since his arrival in England from Slask Wroclaw in 2020. Placheta has already played more games this season than he managed in the last 12 months.
Since he’s been away, Placheta looks to have got leaner and worked on his upper body strength. There has been work behind the scenes to improve his positional and tactical intelligence. Wagner admitted there was still plenty to be done in the weeks and months ahead.
Placheta’s inclusion enabled Wagner to move Jon Rowe into a more central area in support of Adam Idah as a secondary striker in their system.
Both of Birmingham’s full back endured difficult afternoons, but neither Placheta nor Christian Fassnacht made either of them pay.
Cody Drameh struggled to grasp the game’s defensive aspects, but it was often Dimi Giannoulis rather than Placheta who exploited his shortcomings in attacking situations.
Placheta’s cross clipped the bar in the first half before it was recycled on the right by Fassnacht and Jack Stacey, culminating in Idah flicking a header into the gloves of Birmingham goalkeeper John Ruddy.
He went close to netting his first Championship goal for Norwich since August 2020 after a corner was flicked towards the back post by Idah. Placheta, at full stretch, was unable to meet the ball and it looped agonisingly over his head and away from danger.
Placheta’s best spell of the game came just before he was replaced by Hwang Ui-jo on 57 minutes.
The winger started that move that ended with Gabriel Sara planting a header past Ruddy as Norwich kickstarted a five minute flourish that eventually earned them the points in NR1.
Wagner’s decision to start Placheta was undoubtedly a show of faith in the 25-year-old and a reward for his progress in recent months.
From an outside position, Placheta has fought his way into the squad. His next task is ensuring he has what it takes to stay there.
With Borja Sainz stepping up his return from injury and Hwang continuing his adaptation to life at Carrow Road, meaning Rowe would move back into his familiar role, the level of competition is intensifying.
Placheta has proven the doubters wrong so far – but this must be the start and not the end of his redemption arc at Norwich.
VERDICT: Plenty of willing running but drifted in and out of the game. Could have done more to exploit Cody Dramah’s deficiencies. Best spell came just before he was replaced on 57 minutes.
RATING: 6 out of 10
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