Norwich City urged to make “an offer that he cannot refuse” to solve contract issue | OneFootball

Chris Sutton has urged Norwich City to make striker Teemu Pukki “an offer he cannot refuse” in order to keep him at the Championship club beyond the end of the season.

The 32-year-old has been surely one of the Canaries’ finest signings ever – scoring 85 times and providing 26 assists in 189 appearances since his free transfer from Brondby in July 2018.

Pukki remains a mainstay in Dean Smith’s side, with his 12 goal contributions (seven goals and five assists) the highest in the squad, but the Carrow Road outfit face a very real risk of losing him as his contract is set to expire in the summer.

In his column for Pink’Un, Sutton – a former Norwich striker himself – has urged the Norfolk club to do whatever they can to get the “club legend” to sign a new deal.

He said: “Norwich were always going to activate the year’s option they had to extend his stay at the club – but just as they were entitled to do that, Pukki is entitled not to sign a fresh contract.

“Players always run down their contracts for certain reasons. From the outside, it does look like he wants a fresh challenge and go elsewhere.

“The bigger question for Norwich is whether they can afford to replace him, and how much it may cost to do so.

“It feels nigh on impossible to replace his goals for the team – so the club have to make a beeline for him and make him an offer that he cannot refuse.”

Pukki’s goal was the difference on Saturday as Norwich marked their return to Championship action after the World Cup break with a win over Swansea City.

The Canaries are back in action on Saturday when they host Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-Norwich City players ever played for a Yorkshire based team?

1 of 25

Jonny Howson?

Yes No

The Verdict

Pukki has already written his name into club folklore and is proving this season that he still has a lot to give so keeping him at Carrow Road for a few more years could be a smart move.

That said, you’d question whether it should be as big a priority as Sutton is suggesting here.

The Finland international is 32 and now may be the time to plan for the future rather than going all in to delay the inevitable.

By all means, lock him down with an extension but moving heaven and earth to do so doesn’t seem Norwich’s style.