Who is Pascal Jansen? Norwich City's potential new manager as link emerges | OneFootball

Pascal Jansen is one of the many names that have been linked with becoming the next Norwich City boss.

As is often the case when managers of a high profile team in any league depart, multiple top names are associated with the vacancy.

In the case of the Canaries, they have been rumoured to have been snooping round some of the top available candidates ever since David Wagner was sacked, following their 4-0 defeat to Leeds United in the play-off semi-final.

Steve Cooper, the former Nottingham Forest manager, has been reported to be a name that is under consideration by Norwich, according to The Telegraph. They added that, although there may be interest from City, Cooper, who has been out of work since leaving Forest in December 2023, may be willing to bid his time for the right opportunity.

Former Hull City manager Liam Rosenior has been linked with being Wagner's successor too, as per the national newspaper, after he was let go by the Tigers due to issues with their style of play. They narrowly missed out on the play-offs, finishing three points off Norwich in sixth place.

Johannes Hoff Thorup - the 35-year-old Danish coach of FC Nordsjaelland - is believed, by Football Insider, to be in advanced talks with City.

Like Thorup, another name that Canary fans may not be as familiar with, who is reported to be on the club's list of potential candidates, is Jansen.

Pascal Jansen: Norwich City's potential next coach

The 51-year-old Dutch boss has appeared as a really strong option for Norwich, according to journalist Charlie Wyett. The former boss of AZ Alkmaar is said to be looking to get back into management, after leaving the Dutch side earlier this year.

City's sporting director, Ben Knapper, added Jansen to the shortlist, as per Wyett.

In his time with Alkmaar, the coach took charge of over 150 games, between December 2020 and January 2024, and he had a very impressive win rate of just under 60%.

Across his only two full seasons with the Eredivisie team - the 21/22 and 22/23 campaigns - he finished fifth and fourth in the league, respectively. Those standings meant that AZ qualified for the Europa Conference League in the subsequent seasons.

In his first half-season as manager of the club - the back half of the 20/21 season - he guided the team to third in the Eredivisie, qualifying them for a place in the 21/22 Europa League tournament.

Jansen had only managed in PSV Eindhoven's youth setup prior to getting the post at Alkmaar.

Norwich must keep their options open

Jansen, Thorup, Rosenior and Cooper; they would all bring differing qualities to the Canaries. The latter two are the much more proven options. But Norwich may look at the success of Marti Cifuentes and Danny Röhl and think 'Yeah, I want some of that lesser-proven manager stuff too.' That attitude would lend itself more towards the Dane.

The Dutch boss is probably somewhere in the middle. He's only had one job leading a men's team, and he has no experience of working in England, but he got said team into European tournaments very consistently.

The current situation could be looked at as Norwich not having a clear plan or vision, but it's probably a smart move to keep a few plates spinning.

Appointing someone sooner rather than later would be beneficial for them, especially given the looming summer transfer window, but it should come as no worry to City fans that their club is looking at a vast range of potential bosses.