With Norwich City having to be frugal this summer, Samuel Seaman looks at five things Johannes Hoff Thorup can change without turning to transfers.
Returning Gibbs to his natural position
One of the least surprising results in our annual survey of Canaries supporters concerned their transfer priorities this summer. Nearly 30pc of responders said a defensive midfielder should be top of the list, with only centre-back beating the position for popularity.
Since then City have confirmed the signing of Panamanian centre-back Jose Cordoba, meaning attention has turned to who will anchor the midfield under Thorup.
One solution, of course, is to scour the market for a find as impressive as Oliver Skipp's in 2020, or the genius capture of Alexander Tettey in 2013. With a good holding player hard to find for any sort of bargain, however, sporting director Ben Knapper may have to defer to his new head coach and his current set of players.
Among them is Liam Gibbs, who before his seconding as a forward was making promising strides at the heart of midfield. He's got the legs, he's got the passing ability, and he may just have the skillset to save his club some valuable cash this summer.
Making Sorensen a defensive specialist
Anyone familiar with Jacob Sorensen's Norwich career will know the strain being a jack of all trades has placed on him. He originally arrived at Carrow Road as a midfielder, but has played at left-back, right-back and wing-back as well as the centre of defence.
Some of his most impressive performances have been in the latter, however, with his combination of cool-headed defending and reliable distribution the perfect one for modern football.
The left side of defence already seems to be sorted with Cordoba, but there are doubts over the abilities of Shane Duffy and Grant Hanley to operate in a possession-heavy system.
Norwich could again turn to transfers to address this, or they could specialise their utility man and find a potential gem within their ranks.
Taking a chance on Montoia
Although other areas may have more bearing on how much success Thorup enjoys, from a purely logistical perspective there's one position that needs addressing badly: left-back.
If they want a first-choice left-back and cover who've both played senior football before, they'll need to make two signings between now and August 30. But if they look outside the box they'll see Guilherme Montoia, who's made promising strides for the club's under-21s.
He was a regular for Alan Neilson's development side last season, taking the captain's armband on occasion despite arriving from Benfica only this time last year. He also made the first-team bench a number of times towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign, and has an attacking flair that may well suit Thorup's footballing philosophy.
A more senior signing will likely be needed in any case, but promoting Montoia to a first-team role may just take some of the pressure off Knapper in a busy summer.
Keeping Aboh around
It's a fairly open secret now that Ken Aboh's contract is expected to be renewed ahead of next season. The 19-year-old became the talk of the terraces when it looked like his prodigious talent could be lost, and now that he's back on board the excitement is building for what could be a breakout term.
The temptation will be to send him out on loan, and in truth there are many benefits to that, but as City look for financially efficient solutions they may consider retaining him as a genuine backup.
Not the sort of backup who rarely plays apart from when he's chucked on late in a 5-0 win over Rotherham, the sort who's genuinely relied upon when alternatives are needed.
With a striker situation in flux and very little clarity over who could be up front come the Championship kick-off, Norwich could do worse than keeping Aboh around.
Trying Fassnacht out centrally
It's going to be an interesting summer for Christian Fassnacht. The Swiss was brought in by David Wagner having previously worked under him at Young Boys, and has now become a symbol of what the 52-year-old represented at Carrow Road.
He isn't all about tactical reliability and working hard, however, as his six goals in yellow and green have shown. There is clear technical ability in his locker, and yet it doesn't seem to be used best out on the wing.
Many fans have suggested he could be at his best centrally, in a 'number 10' position, and his best performances have given that theory credence, when he's drifted inside and made a difference in the box.
With chief creative Gabriel Sara in demand this summer and interest in Marcelino Nunez another moving part during the transfer window, reinforcements may be needed. It's possible that they come from within, however, and maybe Fassnacht's got a chance of being the answer.
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