Norwich City's left back pursuit is a key search this summer, but within it is a very difficult mission for Ben Knapper, Lee Dunn and the club's recruitment team.
The Canaries have already added Bruno Alves, Sam Field and Andre Brooks to their ranks, favouring haste over a more patient approach. Those signings have all helped fill holes or significantly raise the squad's ceiling as they seek to arm Philippe Clement with the tools required to succeed in the Championship.
But this left-back pursuit stands out as holding different parameters. Arguably more challenging ones.
Not least because Norwich already have two young, talented left-backs in the building, Ben Chrisene and Lucien Mahovo, who they rate highly. The issue has never been about ability, but about durability, with their injury troubles bleeding into last season and leaving Kellen Fisher as the player who made the most appearances in that role.
It’s not too dissimilar to the position they found themselves in 12 months ago, when they sought a more experienced option to supplement their young duo.
Aaron Cresswell was a target but took less money from Stoke to move closer to home. That left Norwich with Jeffery Schlupp, who added plenty off the pitch but struggled with his own fitness on it.
That decision was rooted in a willingness not to block Chrisene and Mahovo’s long‑term pathways. City wanted to expose them to plenty of minutes and continue their development. In the end, the only barrier they faced to progress was their own fitness.
Come January, Norwich pivoted again and opted for immediate quality by bringing in Harry Amass on loan. Again, a short‑term deal, but with a younger age profile and a sign that City’s patience was wearing thin after the constant difficulties in that area of the pitch throughout last season.
Six months later, there is again a decision to be made about the profile of the recruit they target this summer, with the club favouring a permanent signing at this stage. In simple terms, Norwich must decide whether to double down on the attacking, high‑upside left‑backs they already own or pay for a more durable, lower‑variance option.
For all the sexiness and constant desire for new additions, it is worth remembering that Norwich have two really capable options with significant potential.
Former Canaries assistant Glen Riddersholm felt Mahovo was capable of developing into a top‑level player, highlighting his line‑breaking qualities, technicality and athleticism. Chrisene, meanwhile, for all the fitness issues, did take a step forward last year, unlocking a consistency that was lacking in his debut City campaign.
If 12 months ago was about protecting their development, it now feels as though Norwich need to insulate their own.
If they are truly serious about challenging Clement for a promotion, they will need a player capable of demonstrating durability and reliability throughout a 46-game season. That is not a cheap nor easy set of criteria to fulfil if they genuinely want an upgrade.
Ryan Giles is an example. The fee quoted to bring a player of that calibre to Carrow Road speaks to the problem with shopping domestically. Norwich aren't going to replicate the outlay they put on Andre Brooks for a left-back arrival.
Dennis Cirkin would make more sense - but even though he is out of contract, there is a long queue of suitors, and that remains a tough deal to get done.
Norwich have also assessed potential loan options, but that shifts development away from two of their own players and onto someone else’s and, as the Amass situation proved, it can become a waiting game as parent clubs press pause to see how their own situations unfold.
The alternative is to accept that protecting Mahovo and Chrisene’s pathways no longer has to mean ring‑fencing the shirt. A big part of the challenge for Knapper and Dunn is working out whether a loan becomes the next logical stage in their development.
Mahovo, in particular, feels caught in that space. There is a player who is highly regarded and talked up by coaches, yet still without the uninterrupted run of games that would either confirm his potential or expose the gaps. At this stage, he is yet to complete 90 minutes in a senior game.
For a club that increasingly talks about pathways, sending him out for 35–40 matches elsewhere might be the only way to turn promise into evidence and, by extension, into a clearer picture of what Norwich themselves can build around.
Layered on top of that is the question of age and profile. An older head, like someone in their late twenties or early thirties, with a track record of playing 35‑plus league games, would feel like the most natural contrast to the two youngsters already in the building.
Yet even that profile route carries its own complications. Go too far towards experience and you risk creating a short‑term solution that holds for a year or two but offers nothing in terms of resale or succession planning – more sticking plaster than cure.
Go too conservative on profile and Norwich could end up with a safe full‑back who keeps things tidy but doesn’t really move the dial in the way they hoped Amass would.
Norwich have spent much of the last two seasons trying to sit somewhere between those extremes, and this summer’s decision will effectively force them to choose a side. It isn’t an easy pursuit, but it is arguably their most important.
The left‑back they choose, along with how they handle Mahovo and Chrisene’s respective situations, will show whether they’ve struck the right balance. Ultimately, the true measure of success will be whether the new addition can both raise the ceiling and offer the kind of stability this position has lacked.
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