- Focus must turn to what Ben Knapper needs to do in the summer transfer window.
- Exploring the positions Norwich need to strengthen in ahead of next season
- The former Norwich player who should be brought back to Carrow Road if possible.
While there is still a trip to Hull City to navigate next weekend, the focus at Norwich City must be on what happens in the summer transfer window.
Everything from now on has to be about gearing up to support Philippe Clement to push for promotion to the Premier League next season.
The Belgian head coach should be backed by the board in the summer and there is one area of the pitch, in particular, that needs to be addressed.
Norwich’s lack of wide players
After 45 games in the Championship, no Norwich winger has scored more than four goals or provided more than four assists.
When the Canaries won the title under Daniel Farke in the 2020/21 campaign, Norwich’s wingers contributed with 23 goals and 23 assists combined, with Emi Buendia doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
The fact that Norwich started the 1-1 draw with Swansea with Liam Gibbs, a central midfielder, and Paris Maghoma, a number ten, out wide says it all.
Even if you bring the injured players back into play, Matej Jurasek and Ali Ahmed are the only two who could be considered ‘natural’ wide players, and the former is yet to score a league goal for the club after 18 months.
Everyone loves a homecoming…
Not one summer has gone by since 2021 that a clutch of Norwich supporters have not taken to social media to ask if the club can bring Ollie Skipp or Emi Buendia back to the club.
There is just something about a homecoming story that football fans love. We saw it play out with Angus Gunn when he returned to Carrow Road for a third spell, and it is fair to say that his story went pretty well.
Following Leicester’s relegation to League One, there may already be some supporters itching to suggest that Knapper should get on the phone to sign Skipp for Clement’s midfield.
Some may even want to see Carlton Morris return to provide a Grant Holt-esque option in the number nine position.
Forget about those examples, though, because there is one homecoming that Knapper and Clement absolutely have to organise this summer.
The former Norwich star who should be re-signed
In the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, Norwich had Lewis Dobbin on loan from Aston Villa to bolster their wide options for Johannes Hoff Thorup.
The English youngster scored two goals in eight starts before an injury against Blackburn Rovers put an end to his loan spell.
Norwich had a first refusal to bring Dobbin back for a season-long loan but they made a change in the dugout and he did not fit Liam Manning’s 3-4-2-1 ideas, which may be why they did not pursue that move.
He ended up at Preston North End instead and the Canaries have had to watch on as he has enjoyed a terrific campaign.
Dobbin scored his tenth goal of the season in all competitions in their 3-2 win over Sheffield United on Saturday, whilst no Norwich wide player has scored more than four.
The 23-year-old attacker, who can play off the left, through the middle, or on the right, has plundered nine goals and eight assists in 38 league matches for Preston.
He is the exact type of wide player Norwich currently lack. Someone who can take the ball and create a goal out of nothing, offering a threat as both a scorer and a creator.
His ability to play off either flank effectively also makes him an attractive option for Norwich because he can cover either position when needed without it impacting the team.
Rating the chances of it happening…
Preston are not getting promoted to the Premier League and Norwich are a more attractive club on paper for Dobbin to join, so there should not be competition in that respect.
At Aston Villa, meanwhile, they have the likes of Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia in his position and could strengthen again in the summer if they qualify for the Champions League.
That means that the Villans could open to another loan or even a permanent offer for the 23-year-old attacker.
Therefore, it seems to be a feasible deal to be done on paper, but it remains to be seen whether or not Norwich are interested in bringing him back.
If it were up to me, this is one of the first moves Norwich would make this summer…
