Norwich's record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel hopes for World Cup selection

Norwich's record signing Ricky van Wolfswinkel hopes an impressive debut season in the Barclays Premier League can end with a place in Holland's World Cup squad.

The 24-year-old officially completed an £8.5million switch from Sporting Lisbon today and will join up with his new team-mates later this week ahead of a pre-season tour to the west coast of the United States.

Van Wolfswinkel earned his second cap for the senior Dutch side in their friendly against Indonesia in June, and feels the switch to England can only help boost his international profile.

"It would be great to be there (at the World Cup), for me and also for the club, for Norwich to have their players in the national teams," Van Wolfswinkel said at his unveiling at Carrow Road this afternoon.

"For me, it is of course a decision to go to Norwich for the future, to be there for the World Cup, but my main focus is Norwich.

"The Dutch squad is something extra, now I need to develop myself here. To score goals will be important for the team, then the national team will come later.

"The Portuguese League is not on the TV in Holland, the Premier League is every day, so more people see you, and if you are in the news performing well, then the (Holland) coaches will see you also."

Norwich struggled to find the net over the second half of last season - before eventually scoring four against West Brom in their penultimate match and then three in the win at Manchester City on the final day.

Those victories saw them pull clear of the relegation zone and finish a creditable 11th.

Van Wolfswinkel feels his added firepower can make sure Chris Hughton's men, who went through an unbeaten 10-match run from the end of October, can start to look up the table.

"I am confident of scoring goals. That is part and parcel of my job, but the most important thing for me is I am a team player," he said.

"If I play well then I expect to score goals and I want to do both. These are my qualities that I want to show.

"I know they say the Portuguese league is more technical and the English is more physical, so I might have to make a few changes.

"It is normal, I had the same when I first left Holland for Portugal.

"This will be different, but I am not the type of player who needs much time to develop."

The capture of Van Wolfswinkel shattered Norwich's previous transfer record by almost three times, but the Dutchman is not fazed by the size of the fee.

"Of course it shows me that Norwich have a lot of confidence in me, so If anything I see it more as a motivation," he said.

"In Portugal we didn't even have a second striker actually so you need to perform because all of the pressure to score the goals is on you.

"I did great (at Lisbon), so maybe I started to get used to it."

Hughton is expected to further bolster his squad before the head out to America on July 15.

Norwich are also interested in bringing in England under-21 winger Nathan Redmond from Birmingham, Hughton's former club and are said to be tracking Sweden international Ola Toivonen at PSV Eindhoven.

Club captain Grant Holt has also been linked with a move to Premier League newcomers Crystal Palace.

Hughton today insisted England goalkeeper John Ruddy remains very much in his plans for next season, despite reports of a £5million bid from Chelsea.

"There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and when anything is about to happen, then we will always let people know at the appropriate time," he said.

"We have certainly made progress with the signing of Ricky and would like to make more progress going towards the start of the season for sure."

PA