Chris Sutton issues Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers claims | OneFootball

Chris Sutton has given his view on the latest developments at Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers.

The new Championship season is underway, and it is shaping up to be another exciting campaign in the second tier.

Burnley, Sunderland and Watford have all made excellent starts to the season, winning both of their opening two league games, while at the other end of the table, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Millwall are yet to get off the mark.

Two clubs who have had contrasting starts to the new campaign are Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers, and they played out a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road on Saturday, with Yuki Osashi's 87th-minute equaliser salvaging a point for John Eustace's side.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via Instant Withdrawal Casino, pundit Chris Sutton gave his view on the latest developments at two of his former clubs.

Adam Idah sale is a good deal for Norwich City

After scoring nine goals in 19 appearances for the club during his loan spell in the second half of last season, Norwich striker Adam Idah completed a permanent move to Celtic last week in a deal worth £9.5 million.

Thorup had initially hinted that he was keen to keep hold of Idah, but after a lengthy saga in which the striker failed to turn up for a flight to the Canaries' pre-season training camp in Austria, he has now returned to Glasgow on a full-time basis.

While Sutton admits Idah is a loss for Norwich, he believes that as the Irishman has struggled to produce his best form at Carrow Road, the fee received is good business for the club.

"It's interesting because if you ask a Norwich fan whether he's worth £9.5 million, based on his performances at Norwich and the time he was there, they would say probably not," Sutton said.

"If you ask a Celtic fan if he's worth £9.5 million, they'd say that he came in and really did excellently.

"I think that's the going rate, if you look at Celtic they brought Odsonne Edouard in a few years ago for £9 million as a development player from PSG.

"If you compare the two and you look at Adam Idah's profile in terms of his age and development, he will improve under Brendan Rodgers. "It depends which way you want to look at it, but I think Norwich fans will say it's a good deal. "In pre-season, there was an incident where he refused to fly to a pre-season game and he got a bit of a dressing down for that, but he always had his heart set on a move to Celtic. "I always felt that he thought it was probably going to happen and there needed to be a bit of patience, and eventually the deal got over the line. "Celtic only have Kyogo Furuhashi as a striker, I know Daizen Maida has played there and scored a couple of goals at the weekend, but Celtic certainly needed that different type of centre-forward. "Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi dovetailed well last season, so I think he's a good signing for Celtic. "But he will be a loss for Norwich, I think there was a player in there and he was always a bit of a frustration.

"Celtic have seen him at his very best and Norwich haven't quite seen that, so I think Norwich fans accept that this was a move that was probably best for all parties."

Norwich City will miss out on the play-offs this season

Norwich finished sixth in the Championship last season, but the Canaries have picked up just one point from their opening two games of the new campaign.

With players such as Sara and Idah leaving the club, and speculation over the futures of the likes of Jonathan Rowe and Josh Sargent, Sutton believes it could be tough for Thorup's men to challenge for promotion.

Asked whether he believes Norwich will reach the play-offs this season, Sutton said: "Right now, no.

"I think Norwich are still getting ready for the season, as are other clubs.

"Not every club, but the season has already started. "I don't blame the manager Johannes Hoff Thorup, I think he's in a nigh on impossible situation not of his making. "They've sold Gabriel Sara to Galatasaray, they've got good money in for him, but he's arguably their most talented midfielder. "Adam Idah has gone, and then Jonathan Rowe has put a spanner in the works.

"That whole situation makes you wonder what on earth is going on with that?"

Jonathan Rowe was wrong to refuse to play against Oxford United

Winger Rowe enjoyed an excellent breakthrough campaign at Carrow Road last season as he scored 14 goals and provided four assists in 38 appearances, and he has been the subject of significant transfer interest this summer.

It was claimed on Monday that French side Marseille submitted a third offer for Rowe over the weekend, proposing a loan with an obligation to buy for around £13.5 million, and while the deal is now expected to be completed before the end of the transfer window, Leeds United and Rennes are also said to be keen on the 21-year-old.

With increasing speculation about his future, Rowe refused to play for Norwich in their opening game against Oxford United, and Sutton believes that is a decision he may live to regret.

"I think that was a poor decision," Sutton said.

"If you were one of his team-mates, you'd really feel let down.

"This was on the morning of a game by all accounts, he said to the manager he wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"We saw the Blackburn game the night before with Sammie Szmodics coming off the bench and transforming the game. "He was linked with a move to Ipswich, and that move has now gotten over the line. "I think players can do both, how can he not be in the right frame of mind? "I don't think he's done himself any favours, he was so popular among Norwich fans and they had a song about him last season. "He was a player who has been at Norwich since he was young and he had declared his undying love for the club, and he's shot himself in the foot really. "That's a bad mistake from his perspective. "I don't know who's advising him, he could have still moved to Marseille, but he could have helped Norwich try to get off to a good start against a promoted side in Oxford. "I think it's a decision that, in the years to come, I think he will really regret and look back and think he should have helped his team-mates in that situation. "I know he's linked with Leeds, but if Marseille aren't prepared to pay the money, then he's in a bit of a pickle. "He should have just got on with it and helped Norwich get a result if that would have been possible.

"I made some terrible decisions in my career, but you can't say you're not in the right frame of mind."

Blackburn Rovers could be set for a tough season

After narrowly avoiding relegation from the Championship last season, it has been an excellent start to the campaign for Blackburn, with Eustace's men picking up four points from their opening two league games, and they have scored an impressive 12 goals across their first three matches in all competitions.

However, Sutton believes that after losing top scorer Sammie Szmodics, who scored 33 goals last season, to Ipswich Town, and with ongoing off-field issues at the club, it could be another difficult year ahead for Rovers.

Asked whether he believes Blackburn could push for the play-offs this season, Sutton said: "No, and I don't think that's on John Eustace.

"Sammie Szmodics kept Blackburn up last season, his goals kept them up, it's as simple as that.

"You can look at the start of the season with a win over promoted Derby and a draw against Norwich, and they were maybe slightly fortunate to get a draw against Norwich at the weekend. "I think he's in an impossible situation, I know he feels that Blackburn need strengthening. "This is a club that, over a number of years now, have got huge funds in for players and the money hasn't been reinvested in the playing squad, so that is why I'm quite negative about whether Blackburn can get in the play-offs because I think he's been dealt an impossible hand really. "I know people talk about clubs being similar in the Championship, but the Blackburn chief executive said at the start of last season that success would be staying in the division, and they're even worse off this season because they've lost Szmodics. "It's going to be harder, and I really feel sorry for the Blackburn fan base because they rocked up for the first game of the season against Derby and there was this optimism, but you only have to look at the playing squad. "The money they've generated over the years hasn't been put back into the playing squad, they've lost Szmodics, they've lost Sam Gallagher. "New players have come in, they've still got some good players, I like Joe Rankin-Costello, he's a decent player, Ryan Hedges is clever, but there are also players going into the last year of their contracts. "Their contracts are going to run out, Hedges being one of them, and you think what direction are Blackburn heading in? "That's really not on the manager, I think they were really well organised and set up against Derby.

"The manager needs a bit of help, it will be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the window, but Blackburn certainly need to try and replace the number of goals Szmodics scored, and that's clearly going to be an issue."