- Norwich City are looking to build a promotion-winning team this summer.
- Coventry, Hull, and Ipswich won promotion to the Premier League this season.
- A look at one player from each club who could be signed by the Canaries.
Norwich City’s aim for the upcoming Championship season is to win promotion to the Premier League under Philippe Clement.
The Canaries finished ninth in the division under the Belgian, who joined with the side in 23rd, and will be looking to kick on in the 2026/27 campaign.
Supporters are expecting a promotion push and the upcoming summer transfer window will play a key role in building a squad that is capable of doing so.
Coventry City, Ipswich Town, and Hull City just earned promotion to the Premier League and they will be looking to heavily bolster their squads, which could make some of their promotion-winners available.
With that in mind, we have picked a player from each club who could be an interesting target for Norwich this summer…
Hull City: Matt Crooks
Norwich City need another central midfield option after Sam Field’s loan spell with Queens Park Rangers ended, and Matt Crooks could fill that spot.
The 32-year-old EFL veteran started 31 games for Hull on their way to beating Middlesbrough, his former club, in the play-off final.
Crooks scored four goals and provided five assists in the Championship, whilst making 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game, showing that he can offer quality on and off the ball.
He would add some more experience to the group, to supplement the younger options like Pelle Mattsson, Mirko Topic, and Jacob Wright, and knows how to get out of the league.
Of course, like all of the names on this list, it comes down to whether or not Hull deem him to be good enough to make the step up to the Premier League.
If they decide to revamp their midfield with new signings, Crooks could be an excellent short-term signing for the Canaries.
Coventry City: Jake Bidwell
It is an open secret that Norwich City want to sign a new left-back in the summer because Lucien Mahovo and Ben Chrisene have been unreliable over the past two seasons.
The Canaries have had to play players out of position at left-back far too many times because their two natural options in that position are almost constantly unavailable.
Therefore, signing an experienced, reliable, player such as Jake Bidwell could help to solve that issue, without blocking Chrisene or Mahovo’s pathway.
The 33-year-old defender only played 11 league games this season, but he did not miss a single match through injury.
In fact, Bidwell has only missed six games through injury since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, which suggests that he is the kind of reliable left-back they need on their books.
The EFL veteran has 436 Championship games under his belt and would be a solid, if unexciting, addition to the left-back ranks.
Ipswich Town: Dan Neil
It does not feel very likely at all that Ipswich would be willing to sell, or even loan, a player to Norwich after how their deal for Marcelino Nunez unfolded.
That is why we have bent the rules slightly for this one to include Dan Neil, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Portman Road.
The central midfielder, who has been promoted to the Premier League in both of the last two seasons, is set to become a free agent when his contract at Sunderland expires next month.
Rangers are reportedly set for talks with the midfield star, and Norwich should look to hijack their move in the same way that they did with Jose Cordoba in the summer of 2024.
Neil is experienced in spite of his age, 24, as he has played 147 games at Championship level and made over 200 appearances for Sunderland in all competitions.
The Englishman started 44 times for the Black Cats in their promotion-winning season last term, and averaged 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game as a combative midfielder.
He could add solid competition for Mattsson, McLean, Topic, and Wright in the middle of the park, which is why this could be an excellent piece of business by the club.
