Written by Luke Fenn

Norwich have had an interesting transfer window so far with in and outs all happening at the Norfolk club to prepare for life back in the Championship. Work had to be done this window after another disappointing Premier League season ended in relegation for the Canaries. Many have joked around saying Norwich will just go up again like they always do but this time it won’t be as easy as it seems. The signings made last season didn’t end successfully but a few still remain around Colney with Joshua Sargent, Milot Rashica and Angus Gunn the only ones remaining for a second term. Rashica was one of few and far between decent players last season some would say but he unfortunately didn’t adapt quickly enough to the Premier League and will certainly be eager for another chance in the future. The same cannot be said for Josh Sargent who didn’t score a league goal until January when he netted 2 against Watford with one being a back heel flick off the crossbar. They were his only goals in the premier league last season. Local lad Angus Gunn followed in his dads footsteps when he turned out in a Norwich shirt in the Premier league. It was his second stint at Norwich after a successful loan spell a few seasons back. He had a solid season as a back up to number 1 Tim Krul but played well when selected.

Moving on to the action this season, a lot of players departing is not surprising to me as it had to be done to clear out some of Daniel Farke’s signings to make room for Dean Smiths. Loan departures featured Club record signing Christos Tzolis who joined Dutch side Twente to gain some experience and will return to Norwich next season, pacey Polish winger Przemyslaw Placheta joined fellow Championship side Birmingham City and finally young full back Bali Mumba joined Plymouth for the season. 8 permanent departures have happened at Carrow Road. Lukas Rupp and Aston Oxborough were released following expiration of their contracts and are still without clubs. Belgium youngster Rocky Bushiri joined Hibernian after a successful loan spell last season and another youngster, Daniel Adshead, joined League One club Cheltenham Town. Another youngster in Akin Famewo joined League One side Sheffield Wednesday for 55 Thousand Pounds as he’s struggled to break into the first team at Norwich City and will be looking for first team football in league One.

The transfer of Josip Drmic went under the radar as he joined Dinamo Zagreb on a free transfer after spending the last 2 years out on loan in Europe. A sad departure also happened as no nonsense German Centre Back Christoph Zimmerman joined SV Darmstadt. Zimmerman played a huge role in the Canaries 18/19 Championship winning campaign and will be missed at Carrow Road. The most notable departure was Pierre Lees-Melou who went back to his homeland of France joining Stade Brestois for a reported 2-3 million pounds. He failed to set off any fireworks in the top flight last season scoring just one goal. He left as he wanted to play top tier football in Europe.

Norwich have also brought some good signings in as well. The first one was the loan signing of Isaac Hayden. The defensive midfielder joined from Newcastle United but will miss the first few games of the season due to injury and hasn’t played since December. He wants to prove himself at Norwich and could be a key players for them this season. Gabriel Sara also joined the club from Brazilian side São Paulo for a hefty price tag of reportedly up to 10-12 million Pounds. The creative midfielder will be the first Brazilian to play for Norwich and fans are expecting big things from him. I think he will live up to expectations and will play a big role in seasons to come for Norwich. The third signing so far was of Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez. The 22 year old joined from Chilean side Universidad Catolica. He is the third midfielder to be signed this window so far. Nunez has collected experience from the Copa Libatadores and playing for the Chile national side. I think he’ll play a good role at Norwich and will link up nicely with fellow South American Gabriel Sara who was mentioned earlier. He will also become the first Chilean player to play for the club adding yet more history to the books. Norwich had a strong preseason notably beating Marseille 3-0 in a rampant display. They however lost the first Championship game of the season 1-0 to Cardiff City which was a huge shock for the Canaries and shows that this league isn’t a walk through and they’ll have to improve against newly promoted Wigan at the weekend. I’m excited to see the new signings and I hope Norwich will have a positive season to come.