Norwich City will forget Italian transfer very quickly after Carrow Road disaster: View | OneFootball

It was an incredibly disappointing end to the season for Norwich City as they were beaten by Leeds United in the Championship play-offs.

The Canaries made a poor start to the season, and they sat as low as 17th in the table in early November, with many supporters calling for head coach David Wagner to be sacked.

Norwich stuck with the German, and their patience was rewarded as they enjoyed an excellent second half of the season to finish sixth in the table.

The Canaries drew 0-0 against Leeds in their play-off semi-final first leg at Carrow Road, but they suffered a comprehensive 4-0 defeat in the second leg at Elland Road.

Goals from Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville sealed the Whites' place in the final, and in truth, the margin of victory could have been greater.

Wagner was dismissed less than 24 hours after his side's play-off exit, and Carlos Cuesta, Liam Rosenior, Steve Cooper, Pascal Jensen and Johannes Hoff Thorup have all been linked with the job.

Whoever takes charge at Carrow Road could be facing the prospect of a significant rebuild, and Norwich may be vulnerable to losing key players such as Gabriel Sara, Jon Rowe and Josh Sargent.

The Canaries have released goalkeeper Jon McCracken and defenders Danny Batth, Ben Gibson, Dimitris Giannoulis and Sam McCallum at the end of their contracts, while striker Sydney van Hooijdonk has returned to Bologna at the end of his loan spell.

There may be some sadness among Norwich supporters to see the likes of Gibson, Giannoulis and McCallum depart given their contribution to the club over the years, but van Hooijdonk's time in Norfolk is unlikely to live long in the memory.

Norwich City will certainly be regretting Sydney van Hooijdonk signing

It is easy to see why Norwich made a move for van Hooijdonk, and he did look to be a shrewd signing when he arrived at the club on the final day of the winter transfer window.

Van Hooijdonk had enjoyed an impressive spell on loan at Heerenveen in the Eredivisie in the 2022-23 season, scoring 19 goals in 39 games, and his prolific form earned him a first call-up to the Netherlands Under-21s squad in March 2023.

Bologna decided to keep van Hooijdonk at the club in the summer, and while he scored one goal in 11 appearances in the first half of the campaign, he mainly featured as a substitute.

Van Hooijdonk was the subject of interest from Celtic and FC Twente in January, but the Canaries won the race for his signature.

The 24-year-old had been on the radar of Championship clubs previously, with Millwall, Stoke City, Cardiff City and Swansea City all being linked in recent years, and there was hope among Norwich supporters that he would adapt to the second tier and complement their already dangerous attacking options.

However, it did not work out that way, and van Hooijdonk failed to score in 12 games for the club, while all of his appearances came from the bench.

In fairness to van Hooijdonk, it was always going to be tough for him to force his way into the team ahead of Josh Sargent, who scored 16 goals in 30 games this season, and given the Canaries' outstanding form in the second half of the campaign, Wagner would have been reluctant to change a winning team.

Wagner insisted that he had belief in van Hooijdonk's ability, but he admitted in March that his fitness needed to improve.

"I think tactically he is a smart guy," Wagner told the Norwich Evening News.

"He knows what to do defensively, and how we like to get our striker into the game offensively as well.

"But to do so you have to have a certain fitness level. I've said not to put this boy under too much pressure, to give him time, because fitness-wise he has to improve, for sure.

"He has to adapt, he knows this, we know this. But I have a lot of trust and belief in him and my fitness department that in a few weeks he will be on the level to make a proper impact as well."

Unfortunately for Wagner, van Hooijdonk never made the impact that he hoped he would, and as the striker returns to Bologna, all parties will be reflecting on an underwhelming loan spell.

Norwich beat Celtic to the signing of van Hooijdonk, and ironically, they allowed Adam Idah to join the Hoops on loan.

Idah has scored eight goals in 18 games during his time in Glasgow so far to help Brendan Rodgers' side to the Scottish Premiership title, so they will certainly feel they got the better deal.

In an eventful year, the signing of van Hooijdonk is likely to live long in the memory for the Carrow Road faithful.