It has been a rather underwhelming 2017/18 Championship campaign for Norwich City so far under the management of Daniel Farke. In the summer, everyone connected with the club had hope that they could challenge for at least a playoff spot this season after narrowly missing out on a place in the top six at the end of last season. However, in truth, the Canaries have not looked good enough to mount a push for promotion as they continue to struggle for consistency.
However, one shining light in their campaign so far has been their star striker Nélson Oliveira. The 26-year-old Portuguese forward has found the back of the net seven times in 19 league games so far this season, which is not a bad return for a striker at a mid-table Championship side.
It is, therefore, no surprise that the striker has been linked with moves away from the club during this transfer window. The likes of Fulham, Derby County, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Premier League side Swansea City all said to be interested. However, Norwich cannot afford to lose another one of their star assets.
Need to start building a squad capable of challenging
Norwich are currently said to not be in the best financial position due to the fact that their parachute payments are set to end at the end of the season. This means that they will not be able to spend a significant amount of money in future transfer windows. It also means that they may have to reduce the wage bill as if this remains too high, they could be at risk of falling foul to Financial Fair Play restrictions which would not be good for the club.
However, the best way for any club in the Championship to really boost their financial position is by winning promotion to the Premier League. The only way that Norwich are going to be able to challenge for a place in the top flight is by retaining their best players and building a squad capable of a promotion push.
There is no doubt that Oliveira is currently one of the best players at Carrow Road and it would not be a good sign to the club’s supporters if they allowed him to leave. It would be even more disappointing to everyone connected with the club if they allowed Oliveira to join a Championship rival. If a Premier League side comes knocking again during this window, it may be very difficult to prevent the Portuguese striker from leaving, and the money may be too good for the club to turn down.
The Canaries have seen a number of quality players leave
Norwich allowed several proven Championship performers to leave in the summer such as Jonathan Howson, Jacob Murphy and John Ruddy who joined Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively and this will, without doubt, have played a part in Norwich’s underwhelming campaign. They have also recently sold Cameron Jerome to promotion hopefuls Derby County for a fee of around £1.5 million. All of these players have a wealth of experience in the Championship and could have helped form the basis of a squad capable of challenging for promotion.
The sale of Jerome in particular means that Norwich would be left very short of attacking options if they also allowed Oliveira to leave. If the Canaries have any ambition of returning to the top flight in the next few years, then they should do all they possibly can to keep Oliveira at the club and start to build the team around him.
