Chris Sutton has expressed concerns about Norwich City’s young talent as they continue to be linked with big-money moves away from Carrow Road.
City’s relegation was confirmed with three matches to play – with speculation ramping up surrounding the futures of the Canaries young talent ever since.
Max Aarons has already been touted with a £20million move to German champions Bayern Munich, with Todd Cantwell, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Emi Buendia also the subjects of intense rumours.
The Canaries sporting director Stuart Webber has reiterated the club are in a healthy position financially, meaning any departures will be under City’s terms.
Sutton, now a regular pundit for a variety of broadcasters, has shared his concerns over those City players being linked with moves away from the club.
When asked about which relegated players the Premier League will see again next season in his Daily Mail column, Sutton responded: “Norwich’s players didn’t do themselves any favours in Project Restart as they became only the third club in Premier League history to lose 10 consecutive games.
“The likes of Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey and Jamal Lewis are clearly talented but when push came to shove they didn’t stand up to the challenge. That would worry me.
“But I like David Brooks at Bournemouth. He gave Eddie Howe’s side an extra edge in attack. There will be Premier League clubs coming in for him.”
Speaking to the Beautiful Game Podcast last month, Webber issued a warning to City’s stars about moving too soon.
“These players have to be careful, and the people around them, of not believing they should move on too quickly and not thinking they’ve outgrown somewhere too quickly.
“I look at some players like (Virgil) van Dijk, who I’m sure we can agree is the best centre-half in the world. Look at his journey though, Groningen, played every week, Celtic, played every week with European exposure, Southampton then Liverpool.
“It’s very hard for players to make that step at 20 or 21 to play at the top level clubs. Not impossible, but very difficult. You’ve got to time it right.”
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