Norwich City's Todd Cantwell may be struggling for game-time this season due to an attitude problem, journalist Tom Barclay has suggested.
The 23-year-old has barely featured so far this term, although that could change following the appointment of Dean Smith.
What's the latest news involving Todd Cantwell?
Cantwell was one of the surprise packages of the 2019/20 Premier League season, despite Norwich plummeting out of the top flight.
The midfielder bagged an impressive six goals and two assists in the Premier League, while last term saw him make twelve goal contributions as Norwich returned to the top flight at the first time of asking.
But Cantwell has been a marginal figure within Norwich's squad this year. With only three starts and two substitute appearances to his name, he's totalled just 314 minutes in the top flight.
It represents a sharp fall from grace for a player who was linked with Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United and priced at £30m only last year.
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What has Tom Barclay said about Todd Cantwell?
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Barclay speculated whether Cantwell hasn't featured prominently this season due to an attitude problem - but admitted he didn't know the root cause of the Englishman's absence.
The Sun journalist told GMS: "This season he's just been kind of left in the cold. Who knows what the reason is, maybe it's an attitude thing. I don't know."
Can Dean Smith bring the best out of Todd Cantwell?
There's certainly an argument to suggest Smith could bring back the Cantwell of old.
Cantwell has already proved he's got the talent to perform at Premier League level after racking up eight goal involvements during his last top flight stint, so ability is not the issue.
Perhaps he fell out with Daniel Farke personally or simply became out of favour, but the recent change in management at Carrow Road gives Cantwell a clean state to work from.
Additionally, Smith has a decent track history of developing British players. The likes of Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins, Tyrone Mings and John McGinn have all established themselves as Premier League quality players under his watch, but perhaps the most direct comparison would be with Jack Grealish.
Smith helped fine-tune Grealish as Villa's talisman, paving the way for a £100m move to Manchester City during the summer.
Cantwell plays in a similar position to Grealish and there is some overlap between their styles of play, so perhaps Smith has the knowhow to restart the Norwich man's faltering career.