Teemu Pukki’s Norwich City legacy will ‘live forever’ insists Daniel Farke.

The Finnish free transfer has already achieved legendary status at Carrow Road after a prolific goalscoring spell for the club he joined in 2018.

Pukki’s 29-goal haul fired City to the Premier League and a Championship title two seasons ago. Now the fearsome frontman looks poised to repeat the feat, after spearheading the charge again with 25 league goals.

Add in a double figure haul in the Canaries’ previous top flight tilt, and leading Finland to a first ever appearance at the European Championships this summer, and it is easy to see why Farke feels he is peerless.

“Teemu doesn’t have to prove anything to me any more,” said Farke. “We all should appreciate him. Whether it is Norwich, England or Finland. Long may it continue.

"Once you are retired you grow from year to year.

"The longer you are retired the better you become as a football player. For now, it is important he keeps going and keeps delivering.

"One day when he is sat on the sofa in Finland, with a coffee or a glass or wine, he can look back. But one thing is sure, his legacy will live forever.

“He is one of the biggest legends already in the club, but he can work a bit more at this. I will stay relentless, and hold the pressure high. But he wouldn’t allow himself to sit back and enjoy it or take it easy.

"That is not his personality, but he can be pretty proud. In football, as in life, you get what you invest and he was prepared to invest a lot in his career.”

Pukki’s goalscoring feats in his debut season in England also earned him individual accolades, and the 31-year-old is again in the running for the Championship player-of-the-season alongside club mate Emi Buendia and Brentford rival Ivan Toney.

“This is only possible when you are a top quality player and a top class character,” said Farke. “Two years ago we were a bunch of young lads and no one expected us to be near the top six. It was a great shock, a great surprise. We won the title with 94 points and nearly 100 goals. He was the best player in the Championship, he was the best striker.

"He scored double figures at Premier League level and, with all respect, I know Finland have a good squad but he was the main man who brought them to the Euros for the first time.

“But this season was even more difficult. You have the disappointment, the relegation hangover. Teemu was a role model for my younger players. He has led us not just with his goals and his assists but his performances to another great success.”