How is Teemu Pukki getting on since leaving Norwich City for Minnesota United? | OneFootball

Norwich City started this season in relatively good form under David Wagner, with the side looking to re-establish itself among the promotion contenders at the top of the Championship.

The German is now in his first full season at Carrow Road, after a severely underwhelming 13th place finish last term, something Canaries fans aren't used to based off their recent second tier performances.

The Norwich faithful have also had to get used to life without one of their most recent cult heroes in the form of Teemu Pukki.

The 33-year-old's contract in East Anglia expired at the official end of the 2022/23 campaign, ending a largely successful five-year period for club and player. So with that in mind, let's take a look at how the Finnish international striker has fared at his new club, Minnesota United of the MLS.

How did Teemu Pukki perform during his time at Norwich City?

Pukki joined Norwich in the summer of 2018 under Daniel Farke, joining on a free transfer from Danish side Brondby, and it's fair to say it is one of the best transfer dealings in Canaries history, as the striker would make 210 appearances in yellow and green, scoring on 88 occasions.

In his first season at the club, Pukki would play a key role in Norwich eventually wrapping up the Championship title with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on the final day of the 2018/19 season, accumulating 94 points. He would score 29 times in the league that season, before initially continuing where he left off in the Premier League prior to the club's eventual struggles.

He would become the first Norwich player in 26 years to score a Premier League hat-trick, doing so against Newcastle United before being named as the division's Player of the Month in August 2019. He would score 11 times as the side were eventually rooted to the bottom of the table.

Pukki would add another 26 goals to his second tier catalogue as Norwich yet again won the division under Farke's stewardship in 2020/21, before a further 21 strikes in 2 really disappointing seasons at Carrow Road.

Since swapping East Anglia to move Stateside, the 33-year-old hasn't lost his goalscoring touch in the MLS, despite Minnesota United currently sitting in a lowly 11th position in the division's Eastern Conference.

Pukki signed for United in July upon the expiration of his Norwich contract, and is registered to one of the club's 'Designated Player' contracts - meaning he doesn't affect the salary cap.

The striker scored his first goal for Minnesota in just his second appearance, a 3-0 away victory against Houston Dynamo on July 13th. This began a run of the Fin averaging a goal every two appearances for United, as he has so far featured on 10 occasions, finding the back of the net five times.

How are Norwich City performing without Teemu Pukki?

Norwich had started their first campaign without Pukki's presence in some fashion, as they were unbeaten in their first four outings, winning three of those.

However, cracks have recently started to appear especially defensively. David Wagner's men have lost three out of their last four games, with the 2-0 defeat to Leicester the first time the Canaries failed to score in a league game this season, which was followed up by a bruising 6-2 loss at Home Park against newly promoted Plymouth Argyle.

City will hope for an immediate response as they face Premier League Fulham in the EFL Cup Third Round on Wednesday.