Norwich City: Connor Southwell on Todd Cantwell departure

David Wagner confirmed that the midfielder is in talks with a 'number of clubs' over a permanent move away from Carrow Road, in the process ending the psychodrama that has surrounded his name at Norwich for the last 18 months. 

There has been confusion, frustration and disappointment that no solution has been found to get Cantwell back to his best. 

Despite some real determination from both parties at the start of this season, Cantwell and Norwich have held their hands up and arrived at the same conclusion - this just isn't working anymore. 

You can almost imagine the conversation now; 'it's not us, it's you'. The reasons for the separation may only become clear down the line, but it's hard to reflect on the last few years with anything but a tinge of sadness. 

Todd Cantwell after scoring against Manchester City in September, 2019 (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Cantwell was the poster boy of Norwich's bright start to life in the Premier League in 2019/20. He danced his way onto the top-flight scene - scoring against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. 

That player hasn't been seen since yet the memory of those performances have certainly followed him around. They acted as the benchmark that people felt was the norm - in truth, his time at Norwich shows that patch of form was the exception to the rule. 

Delve into the raw numbers and they show that in 129 games, Cantwell has scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists. However you look at it, those numbers aren't befitting a player who was once being touted for a £30million-plus transfer. 

Cantwell has become somewhat of an enigma. Every coach has been tasked with extracting that natural talent that is so obviously present but has been rarely seen over the last year and a half. 

He has struggled to capture the same form but also retain the trust of either Daniel Farke and Dean Smith - that perhaps is more damning. 

Every Norwich fan has willed him to come back to his best, the hope was he could complete a redemption arc and that his story in Norfolk, his home after all, would end in triumph and glory. 

Instead, the narrative that surrounded his exit to Bournemouth a year ago still exists. There is still a mystery element as to why this hasn't gone the way many people expected.

Such answers are likely to emerge in the wash in months or even years down the line. 

Cantwell could have been a hero, a trailblazer at Norwich City - instead, the narrative will be cast in a completely different way. 

Wherever Cantwell ends up, the mission for his next coach is to relight that fire and get a handle on why his career has spiralled in the wrong direction. 

Many will have theories or ideas, but until both sides of the story are presented in full, judgment must be reserved. 

A failure to succeed here doesn't define Cantwell as a footballer. He is a good one. But that sense of disappointment that a star that shone so brightly in the Premier League has faded to black in Norfolk will remain a real regret for everyone. 

Undoubtedly, Norwich will feel Cantwell could have done things better. Cantwell will feel Norwich could done things better. But it's become clear in the last few weeks that both needed a fresh start and a reset. 

The 'Cantwell question' that has been asked at many a press conference and in many discussions needed a definitive answer. In truth, everybody has probably known the answer for a long time. 

It shouldn't have been this way. It didn't need to be this way. Yet here we are. This is the way - and as such both parties need to accept it and move on. 

It isn't all Cantwell's fault as to how we have reached this stage. Contrary to many opinions, he is a likeable, humble, deep thinker who has always been respectful in interviews and not willing to partake in cliches or predictable rhetoric. 

Norwich were always relaxed about Cantwell seeing out his contract at Carrow Road. Having played over 100 games, they feel that they have got a return. Any fee that they gather from his exit will be nominal. 

It leaves Angus Gunn as the only 'Norfolkian' in the City squad and is another example of a local player who has struggled in the spotlight of their birthplace. 

Cantwell, being the talent that he is, may well head elsewhere and find that spark. He could look instantly a better player and go on to have the career many plotted for him after that Premier League campaign. 

He isn't a flash in the pan. But he finds those narratives clinging on to his name. He now has to shake them off through performances on the pitch at wherever his next destination will be in the coming weeks. 

For Norwich, it comes at a time where they are desperately in need for extra creativity, especially now Aaron Ramsey, Norwich's most consistent creative presence, has returned to Aston Villa through injury. 

Wagner must find solutions to that absence of natural creativity. 

It makes a foray into the transfer market feel somewhat inevitable - especially when confirmation of Cantwell's move arrives. 

Many felt Cantwell was part of the solution - but now Wagner will need to find answers from within.