“If Nottingham Forest pay big..” – How should Norwich City react to potential transfer play involving Andrew Omobamidele? The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Nottingham Forest are keeping tabs on Norwich City centre-back Andrew Omobamidele ahead of the summer window, according to a Patreon report from Alan Nixon.

The 20-year-old has made 23 Championship appearances this term and is one of the club’s top emerging prospects, with the player contracted at Carrow Road until 2026.

So, with Nottingham Forest keen on Andrew Omobamidele – How should Norwich respond to any interest this summer? Welcome it or show a firm hands-off stance?

A selection of FLW writers discuss…

Josh Cole

Norwich definitely should not be in a rush to cash in Omobamidele this summer as he is currently establishing himself as a key player for the club by featuring week-in, week-out in the Championship.

In the 23 league games that he has participated in, the defender has shown signs of promise as he has managed to make 1.3 tackles and 2.5 tackles per fixture and is currently averaging a pass success rate of 87.8%.

With Omobamidele’s contract set to run until 2026, Norwich are in a position where they can afford to turn down significant offers from elsewhere.

If the centre-back goes on to improve as a player next season, his value will naturally increase which in turn will justify the club’s decision to retain his services.

Marcus Ally

Norwich City should not be offloading Omobamidele this summer, unless a club is willing to significantly overpay for his services.

With three years remaining on his contract when we get to the summer, the Canaries can price a lot of clubs out of a move by starting the bidding at £30 million, with the knowledge that the Irishman should still be of a high transfer market value in the summer of 2024 anyway.

Nottingham Forest may well be content overpaying having done so for a number of players last summer, and therefore Norwich should not budge unless they are offered money they cannot turn down that could significantly improve their promotion chances if reinvested.

The hands-off stance is not for me, every player outside of the biggest clubs in the world is for sale for a certain price, but Norwich’s asking price should be astronomically high for Omobamidele this summer, due to the security of his contract situation.

If Nottingham Forest pay big, Norwich should consider it.

The ball is firmly in the Canaries’ court here given the contract length of Omobamidele and there being no urgent reason for the club to sell him on.

I can’t see Norwich issuing a firm hands-off warning to any club for the Republic of Ireland international and if a sizeable multi-million pound bid, say upwards of £20m arrived, Norwich would be foolish not to atleast consider it and enter negotiations.

There’s no denying that the young centre-back is one of the club’s shining lights at the moment, having featured heavily for the club this season whilst having also made appearances in the Premier League for the Canaries.

Ultimately, it all depends on the size of the offer potentially placed for the defender here, money does talk.