Norwich City bounced back from relegation in the 2019/20 campaign with an outstanding season, taking the Championship by storm. The Canaries did not make sweeping changes after their drop back into the second tier. The club kept faith in manager Daniel Farke, and their squad largely remained intact bar the departures of Ben Godfrey to Everton and Jamal Lewis to Newcastle United.
Teemu Pukki and Emiliano Buendia were the star men who guided the Canaries into the Premier League in the 2018/19 season. The Finn and the Argentine were on point once more in the 2020/21 season. Pukki was one of the division’s top scorers, maintaining his outstanding form from the previous campaign in the Championship. Buendia has been sensational, providing and scoring goals in the final third, leading the league in assists. The two players have been the driving force of the surge, and will be crucial once again in the Premier League next term.
Norwich were one of the leading contenders in the Championship betting odds at the start of the season. The situation regarding the short turnaround from the last campaign to the 2020/21 term aided their cause. However, Farke and his team still had to go out and deliver results. They’ve met expectations, but now have to raise the standard in their return to the top flight. The Canaries had extreme difficulties meeting the level required to compete in the Premier League. Indeed, they were relegated without a great deal of a fight, despite an impressive win over Manchester City in the early stages of the season.
The problem that Farke faces ahead of their return to the Premier League is the budget. Norwich are not backed by billionaire investors, which limits their ability to splurge in the transfer market. Their signings will need to be savvy and cost-effective. They cannot rely on Buendia and Pukki to deliver the same impact from the Championship into their Premier League contests. The duo are fine players, but not quite of the standard to make a decisive impact at the highest level.
Todd Cantwell and Max Aarons are players on the rise, and the latter could have moved elsewhere after drawing interest from Barcelona last summer. However, Aarons and Cantwell remained at Carrow Road, and now have the opportunity to cement reputations as Premier League standard players under Farke next term. Between Pukki, Cantwell, Buendia and Aarons there is a foundation of a starting line-up, but the Canaries must add at least three players of top calibre.
Their backline has conceded the second-fewest goals in the Championship this term, but Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson have failed to make the grade, while keeper Tim Krul has been up and down in his previous years in the Premier League with Newcastle and the Canaries. Farke and Norwich’s recruitment staff may have to build a new centre-back pairing to allow them to cope with the attacking superstars they will face on a weekly basis in the top flight.
Norwich met expectations to return to the Premier League at the first attempt. However, they will have to defy the odds to remain in the division. Their leading lights are outstanding players in the second tier, but will not have the same impact among the elite. Farke is going to have to deliver a perfect summer in the transfer window and a season to avoid another relegation.
