Liam Manning is facing same Norwich City problem Johannes Hoff Thorup had | OneFootball

Norwich City's new head coach Liam Manning finds himself confronting an eerily familiar challenge to that which faced Johannes Hoff Thorup

Norwich City's new head coach Liam Manning finds himself confronting an eerily familiar challenge to that which faced his predecessor Johannes Hoff Thorup during the Dane's initial tenure at Carrow Road.

The parallels between Manning's current predicament and Thorup's early challenges are striking, yet the Norwich-born coach faces an arguably more demanding task.

When Thorup arrived at Carrow Road in May 2024, he was forced to rebuild his attacking options after losing two of the club's most influential players - Jonathan Rowe departed for Marseille in a deal worth £17m, whilst Gabriel Sara joined Turkish giants Galatasary for £20m.

However, Manning's situation perhaps presents a tougher challenge.

Where Thorup at least retained Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent to build around following Rowe and Sara's exits, Manning now faces losing both of these without similar quality replacements readily available.

Sainz, who scored 18 goals in the second-tier last season despite missing six games through suspension, has already completed his £14.25m move to Porto.

Josh Sargent situation completes Manning's Norwich headache

The potential loss of Josh Sargent represents an even bigger blow to Manning's plans. The United States international, who signed a new five-year deal until 2028 in October 2023, has become key to the Canaries attack since arriving from Werder Bremen for £8m.

Sargent's importance to Norwich cannot be overstated. He has scored 48 goals in 133 appearances for the club and was described by former boss Daniel Farke as having "lots of potential" and the ability to develop into a top Premier League striker.

Yet Manning now faces the prospect of losing the striker to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg for around €16m.

Thorup's struggles offer warning signs for Manning

Johannes Hoff Thorup's spell at Norwich is an example of how losing key players can derail a season's ambitions. Despite the large funds raised from the sales of Sara and Rowe - totalling nearly £40m - Thorup struggled to adequately replace their contributions.

The Danish coach faced criticism for the Canaries' inconsistent attacking play following these players leaving. Former Norwich captain Iwan Roberts noted that whilst the team became the second-highest scorers in the Championship under Thorup, they also had the "fifth-worst defensive record".

This imbalance between attack and defence contributed to Norwich's disappointing 13th-place finish in 24/25, which was ultimately well short of their play-off hopes.

Thorup himself later admitted that had he known the club's expectation was to reach the play-offs, he "would probably have made some other decisions along the way."

Liam Manning's transfer challenge

Where Manning's situation differs a lot from Thorup's is in the lack of proven alternatives. When Thorup lost Rowe and Sara, he still possessed standout performers in Sainz and Sargent to lead his attacking line.

The Canaries have moved to address some of these concerns by signing Danish striker Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby for £6.9m. The 23-year-old scored 23 goals in 38 games last season, but expecting a player transitioning from Danish football to immediately replace Sargent is somewhat of a gamble.

The club has also strengthened defensively with the additions of Harry Darling from Swansea City and Jakov Medic from Ajax, alongside goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević from Sporting Lisbon.

Yet these defensive reinforcements cannot mask the potential void in creativity that Manning surely has to address more in the window.

Manning could have more patience from Norwich fans than Thorup

Unlike Thorup, who was relatively inexperienced at senior level when he arrived at Norwich, Manning brings extensive coaching experience from his time with Bristol City, MK Dons, and within the City Football Group system.

He guided the Robins to their first play-off campaign in 17 years last season, which of course shows he has ability to get there with Norwich. As a former Canaries academy player and season ticket holder, he already knows the club, which could see him given more patience from fans if things don't start off strong.

Ultimately, Manning faces the same challenge Thorup had - losing arguably his two best players, except the latter didn't have to think about replacements and still finished mid-table. The signing of Kvistgaarden as a direct Sainz replacement could solve one half of the puzzle for Manning, but the timing of Sargent's potential departure surely adds a lot more work into Manning's planning than Thorup ever faced.