Matej Jurasek in the house. But what next for City in this window?

01/20/2025 10:57 AM

So,14 days to go before the window slams shut on February 3rd.

We have, at this present time, lost Ashley Barnes, Christian Fassnacht and Grant Hanley on permanent deals, while loaning out Jonathan Tomkinson to Ross County. As the latter's contract is up in the summer, I think that’s him gone.

Will Jaden Warner, who showed lots of potential under David Wagner and went out on loan, also be following the Tomkinson route? Maybe he too will be heading out into the loan market, and with his contract also due to expire this summer, maybe he'll be another never to be seen in City’s colours again.

We’ve recalled Vincent Reyes from Cambridge United in order, it seems, to facilitate the loan of Archie Mair to Motherwell whose contract is due to expire. The official line from Johannes Hoff Thorup is that Mair's loan is to help with his development, perhaps to be a City No. 1 of the future.

As well as Reyes being recalled, Ken Aboh has also been recalled from his loan at Stevenage. Both clubs were disappointed in City’s decisions but we have moved on with new loans, and Aboh will either go back out on loan or try and get game time in the first-team.

In terms of Angus Gunn's future, this is something of a mystery. Why haven’t heard that the club have made him an offer as Thorup alluded to? Or has Gunn said he will consider his future at the end of the season?

There are many factors. Money. Ambition. Trophies. Or even the tapping up from clubs home and abroad – we’ll never know. The other possibility is that Thorup just doesn’t see him as his type of keeper.

Much has been said about the signing of Czech international, Matej Jurasek. It was a drawn-out affair and while negotiations were ongoing for his work permit and eventual signing, Ante Crnac was getting game time for a full work permit. After his first game in February, Jurasek can then take up that final emergency slot (good ol' Brexit – Ed).

Building or rebuilding a squad for a club like Norwich needs thinking outside the box and at times decisions are made that us supporters can’t understand. But the Jurasek deal boils down to simple common sense – another club, from Belgium, was making offers to sign the Czech in the summer, so City decided not to lose out and get it done.

There could be a similar situation with Ricky-Jade Jones at Peterborough. Cardiff are also interested but have said they will wait until the summer when he’s a free agent.

I’ve read that City should make an offer with a loan option until the summer – that way Peterborough are not left short in their own squad. We’ve done this previously with James Maddison and Kenny McLean and it makes for a good working relationship with the selling club. So a win-win.

Further afield beyond the City Walls, there is as much talk about managers moving on as there is about players.     

Interestingly, Leicester City recently sacked Steve Cooper and hired Ruud Van Nistelrooy, but after their latest defeat, some Foxes' supporters are already calling for his head! In the real world, he’s working with players that are new to him and still trying to instil his methods, so needs time.

Ange Postecoglou is another in the firing line, especially after Spurs' defeat at Everton yesterday. Maybe his first 11 games last season gave supporters too much hope and finishing fifth was a good result. But now with 13 first-team players injured and a relatively poor season, the supporters are calling for his head and, strangely, Daniel Levy is refusing to pull the trigger, hoping instead for a change in fortune when the injured players return to the squad.

This brings us back to City and the shouts in some quarters for Thorup to get the bullet!

We’ve seen, on occasions, what this team can do when at nearly full strength and then how poor they can be when badly affected by injuries and suspensions.

I’m sure Mark Attanasio and Ben Knapper have plans in hand for when that bullet is fired in Thorup’s direction, but at this present time, I honestly think that’s not in their short-to-long term plans unless there is a catastrophic downturn and relegation happens this season.

I also think they understand that JHT is on a learning curve as they both are. Theoretically, Knapper is at just as big a risk as Thorup – still learning his new job after being the Loans and Data manager at Arsenal.

The mess of a squad left by Knapper's predecessor has slowly started to improve, so now his transfer decisions will either earn him big brownie points or the sack further down the line.

JHT, like many of his players, are new to the English game and some are still having to learn a new language and environments while also getting their families settled and adapting to the hectic schedule of the Championship.

All three managers mentioned above need to be given time and patience to succeed in their respective jobs. While Ange has had the time to build, injuries have crippled his squad and Van Nistelrooy just needs time to prove himself with his current squad. And Thorup needs to, possibly, adapt more to the set-up of opposing teams with a plan B also in place.

But can we reach the magical top six? Even without the promotion, a good second half of the season would hopefully give them confidence going into next.

With 14 days to go, will we sell anyone else? Or, of more relevance, will there be anyone else coming in?