As a general rule of thumb, it is impossible to predict a team's fortunes for the coming campaign based on a handful of informal, often pedestrian pre-season performances.
The same could be said of Liam Manning's Norwich City, but the first seven outings of the new era at Carrow Road served as a helpful glimpse into the thinking of the new boss.
A great deal was both learned and is still to be learned about what form Manning's team will take when the Canaries open their 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship campaign at home to Millwall this Saturday, but some uncertainties, as the Norwich faithful fear, will not truly be resolved until the summer transfer window finally slams shut in September.
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A new-look defence
It really hasn’t come as much of a surprise, given Norwich’s truly abysmal defensive record last season, that Manning has entirely reshaped the Carrow Road defensive unit.
First out the door was Angus Gunn, whose goalkeeping credentials sank at a rate of knots from being one of the best to one of the worst in the Championship in the space of a year. The Scot is still yet to find a new home, something that should reassure Canaries fans that sporting director Ben Knapper made the right call.
No less than three new ‘keepers have arrived through the doors this summer, but it is former Sporting stopper Vladan Kovačević who will serve as Manning’s new number one.
The Serb picked up two consecutive clean sheets in the side’s final pre-season outings against ADO Den Haag and NAC Breda, and looks assured with the ball at his feet. There are still some question marks over his handling, but Kovačević should prove a huge upgrade between the sticks.
The same can be said at centre-back, where Harry Darling and Jakov Medić look set to be Manning’s new partnership in the heart of defence. The former Bristol City boss has also been experimenting with a five-man defence on occasions in pre-season, a system which he employed last year as the Robins surprised the rest of the division to claim a play-off berth. Comfortable using both systems when the time calls, it seems that Manning will employ a back four to start, before switching to a five to see games out.
Jack Stacey looks set to get the nod over Kellen Fisher at right-back, with the former AFC Bournemouth man seemingly more switched-on defensively this time around.
However, if the Den Haag meeting was anything to go by, Stacey could still do with remedying his lack of end product. The Englishman loves to burst forward and accompany any Norwich attack, but his crosses almost never find their target in the box.
At left-back, it’s really anyone’s game at present. New signing Jeffrey Schlupp is set to battle with Ben Chrisene for the starting gig on Saturday, but both should really be usurped by Lucien Mahovo once the Norwich academy graduate returns from a long-term stint on the sidelines.
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Evolution, not revolution, in midfield
One of the few bright sparks from the tail end of the last campaign was the emergence of loanee midfielder Jacob Wright. Now a permanent addition to Manning’s squad following a £2.3 million move from Manchester City, Wright and Marcelino Núñez are set to remain at the heart of the Norwich midfield.
However, the pair are soon to be joined by Serbian international midfielder Mirko Topić. The former Famalicão hardman was announced as Manning's tenth summer signing on Sunday, and looks to provide the no-nonsense mentality which has been sorely absent from the Norwich midfield for so many years.
Liam Gibbs looks set to return from multiple long-term injury absences to provide crucial depth in the middle of the park, while club captain Kenny McLean will likely have to fight for his starting spot once he returns from his own injury issues this summer.
The new regime, however, will likely spell the end of Anis Ben Slimane’s Norwich career. The Tunisian’s initial loan last year was hastily made permanent, but his fragility and constant careless passes are far too reminiscent of Johannes Hoff Thorup’s short-lived reign and was left out of Manning's final pre-season squads this weekend.
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Unlimited attacking potential...
If there's one department in which Norwich didn't struggle last campaign, it was goals.
Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent contributed a combined 33 of them in the league last year, even if Sainz's form dropped off a cliff post-November and Sargent's minutes had to be managed following yet more fitness problems.
This time around, Norwich's star Spaniard has left for Porto, but Knapper hasn't hesitated in securing his replacement. The club's sporting director convinced Metz winger Papa Amadou Diallo to ditch his Watford move in favour of Norwich, and went one better by beating the likes of RC Lens and Celtic to the signing of Danish forward Mathias Kvistgaarden for a cut-price fee of £6.9 million.
Ghanaian attacker Amankwah Forson has impressed so far despite struggling for minutes under Thorup, while Ante Crnac looks dangerous partnering Sargent up top.
Elsewhere, Matěj Jurásek is finally fit to fight for his place in Manning's attack, following his wretched run of fitness troubles following his arrival from Slavia Prague in January.
Against Den Haag, the quartet of Sargent, Crnac, Diallo, and Forson combined impressively for Norwich's second in an eventual 2-0 win, while both Kvistgaarden and Jurásek featured from the bench.
Diallo didn't seem entirely convincing in front of goal, but neither did Sainz last term, and the Senegal man's electric pace is sure to offer something which the departed Spaniard didn't.
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... if Sargent stays
However, Norwich's attacking potency relies almost entirely on Sargent remaining at the club beyond September.
He is simply the best striker in the division, and his goals are irreplaceable regardless of how promising the likes of Crnac and Kvistgaarden may be.
The American recently rejected a move to Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg, quietly raising hopes among the Norwich fanbase that their star man may indeed still be their player come the end of the summer window.
The Canaries may finally have the depth to contend with a Sargent injury or departure, but any chances of securing a long-awaited return to the Premier League surely depend on their American Boy being the one to spearhead their attack.
