Norwich City face MK Dons in the League Cup on Saturday and it may be a chance for some of the younger players in the squad to impress Philippe Clement.
The likes of Jake Glossop, Vatan Ozcan, Dylan Jones, and Zach Baumann will all be hoping to feature, whether as a starter or off the bench.
Whilst the Canaries have a selection of young talents who are looking to make the breakthrough at senior level, there is also work going on behind the scenes to add even more quality to their U21 ranks.
The pathway that Norwich offer and the draw of having a respected top-level manager like Clement means that they can attract promising players from elsewhere to join their youth set-up.
Norwich make approach to sign German forward
According to Sky Sports journalist Patrick Berger, Norwich City have made an official approach to sign Hoffenheim centre-forward Jykese Fields on a permanent deal.
The reporter claims that the Canaries are keeping an eye on the 19-year-old striker and would like to bring him to Carrow Road before the end of the window.
Berger adds, though, that Hoffenheim are not interested in cashing in on the teenage star and believe that he is a future star for their first-team, which means that it will be difficult for Norwich to do a deal.
The Championship side are also not the only team eyeing up the German youngster, though, as clubs from Denmark and Belgium are also said to be in the race to secure his services.
Why Norwich should push to sign Fields
This is an intriguing transfer rumour because Fields spent three years in the Norwich academy from 2020 to 2023, before signing for Hoffenheim in the summer of 2023.
He was playing for the club’s U18s side in the 2022/23 campaign, but decided to move back to Germany instead of pursuing a first-team spot in Norfolk.
If the 19-year-old attacker is now interested in making a return to Norfolk, Ben Knapper should push to agree a deal with Hoffenheim before the end of the summer transfer window next month.
Fields has scored 29 goals in 36 matches for the German team’s U19 side and scored 14 goals in 14 U19 league games for them in the 2025/26 campaign.
He has shown immense potential as a goalscorer and could develop into an exciting first-team talent if he can make the transition from youth to senior football successfully.
The teenage marksman also scored one goal in five matches at the U19 European Championship for Germany this summer, and looks to be a prospect at national team level as well as for his club.
Fields would be a fantastic addition to Norwich’s U21 squad on paper, due to his form for club and country, and would provide Clement with a potential long-term successor to the likes of Jovon Makama, Mathias Kvistgaarden, and Mohamed Toure.
It is now down to Knapper to put together a proposal that is convincing enough to get Hoffenheim to part ways with the Germany youth international.
