- The quality of football at the top level is declining year-on-year.
- The type of players Norwich supporters loved growing up.
- Why Paris Maghoma should be treasured at Carrow Road
Norwich City went into the January transfer window knowing that they need to add another number ten to their squad after their lack of creativity in the first half of the season.
Ben Knapper and Philippe Clement opted to swoop for Brentford playmaker Paris Maghoma for a fee of £800k, 18 months after the Belgian boss explored a deal to take him to Rangers.
It took less than 45 minutes into his first start to the club, against West Brom in the FA Cup, for supporters to flock to X to share edited pictures of his face on Ronaldinho and Neymar.
Why was that?
The state of modern football
It is far from a hot take to suggest that watching Premier League football in 2026 is nowhere near as entertaining as it has been in years gone by.
There are some teams at the top level who play lovely football to watch, such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, but the Premier League has been overrun by the idea that physicality trumps all.
No English team made it to the final of the Champions League last season and Arsenal are the only English team left in the competition at the time of writing, so many physicality does not trump all.
An over reliance on corners, free-kicks, and, worst of all, long throws has made some teams, and the Premier League in general, tough to watch at times.
Declan Rice, a defensive midfielder, is the odds-on favourite to win the PFA Premier League Player of the Year award, whilst Gabriel, a central defender, is the third-favourite. That just about sums it up.
Arsenal are on the course to win the Premier League, and you have to credit them if they succeed in doing so, but they are a chore to watch, as a neutral, more often than not.
How Norwich almost fell into the trap
With the trend of physicality and reliance on set plays in the Premier League, Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper opted to appoint Liam Manning as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s replacement last summer.
The Canaries went from an attractive style of play, typically deploying a 4-3-3, under Thorup to Manning’s 3-4-2-1 system that was built on physicality, running power, and horseshoe football.
Norwich lost two pure wingers in Borja Sainz and Lewis Dobbin last summer, yet the only ‘wide player’ signed by Manning and Knapper was Papa Diallo, who was deployed as a hybrid left-back and left midfielder before Philippe Clement’s arrival.
The Canaries also lost a certain Chile international, who provided creativity in midfield, and signed two defensive midfielders in Mirko Topic and Pelle Mattsson.
Whilst Mattsson could go on to have a better career than Marcelino Nunez, signing two defensive-minded midfielders to replace a creative player left the squad short on quality in the final third.
Norwich became, let’s be honest, incredibly boring to watch because of the change in strategy and style of play.
Supporters, in a weird way, should be thankful that the team went on such a poor run of results that it forced Knapper to make a change, because that led to the appointment of Clement and a return to ‘the Norwich way’, playing attacking football that is a joy to watch.
Why Norwich fans fell in love with Paris Maghoma instantly
Because of the direction football has gone at the top level and how the team lined up and played under Manning, Norwich supporters were desperate to see some excitement and flair earlier this season.
Up step Paris Maghoma against West Brom. I sat behind the Baggies dugout for that FA Cup game and Eric Ramsay, the then-West Brom boss, almost had his head in his hands at the sight of Maghoma taking on his defenders with ease.
The former Brentford talent was taking the ball on the half-turn, driving at players, flicking the ball over defenders, and pulling out skills that some players would not even dare do in training.
What made his performance even more impressive, though, was that he also scored a goal with his head, showing that he could be effective as well as extravagant.
I’ve seen so many player comparisons since Maghoma signed for Norwich, including Adel Taraabt, James Maddison, Ronaldinho, Wes Hoohalan, and Neymar, but he is a one-of-a-kind.
The 24-year-old magician combines excellent physical attributes with outstanding technical quality and a willingness to be different and to try things that other players won’t, which is a rarity in the modern day.
Maghoma is working his way back to fitness, after a long spell without playing at Brentford, but he has still registered two goals, four ‘big chances’ created, 22 key passes, and one assist in 12 games for the club.
| 25/26 Championship | Maghoma (Per 90) | Percentile Rank* |
| xA (Expected Assists) | 0.29 | Top 5% |
| Chances Created | 2.45 | Top 2% |
| Successful Dribbles | 1.64 | Top 15% |
| Goals | 0.16 | Top 34% |
| Assists | 0.16 | Top 30% |
His rank against fellow attacking midfielders in the league in a host of key attacking metrics per 90 show that Maghoma is as effective as he is exciting.
What comes next
Hopefully, Maghoma will continue to shine and play a key role in a promotion push for Norwich in the Championship next season, before proving himself in the Premier League.
Clement likes to talk about the club’s ‘story’ and how each player has their own ‘story’ that they need to follow.
Maghoma is in the middle of a love story at Norwich City, and I hope that it has a happy ending.
