What Jack Wilshere has said about leaving Norwich City and Liam Manning replacing him | OneFootball

Wilshere left the club in May to pursue head coaching opportunities after missing out on the Norwich job.

Jack Wilshere has admitted that Norwich City have brought in a "really good coach" in Liam Manning following his interim stint in charge of the club at the end of last season.

There was a moment where it felt like the Canaries' sporting director, Ben Knapper, may have been grooming the former Arsenal under-18s boss, who he worked with during his time as the Premier League club's loans manager.

That theory never amounted to anything substantial, however, and, once Wilshere realised that the vacant manager role at Carrow Road wasn't going to be filled by him, he decided to part ways with the Canaries.

Wilshere, whose first job in senior football came when he was brought into Johannes Hoff Thorup's backroom staff in October, was disappointed when he found out that he wasn't going to succeed the Dane, according to his former Gunners colleague. He wants to be a manager some day and the move away from Norfolk allowed him to keep his head coaching options open.

Jack Wilshere reflects on Norwich City tenure and makes Liam Manning claim

The 33-year-old is yet to find a new role in football, following some links with Plymouth Argyle, but he is still very much involved in the sport. He featured in Sunday's Soccer Aid game at Old Trafford. Speaking prior to the weekend, Wilshere reflected on his time at Carrow Road and backed Manning to do a good job in the role that he was gunning for.

"I left Norwich. I had a great time in Norwich and really enjoyed it," he told talkSPORT.

"I really enjoyed the last two games where I got the opportunity to be the head coach. They have brought in a really good coach, and I thought it was just time for me to move on."

Norwich's Jack Wilshere decision was ultimately the right one

The experience levels of Manning compared to Wilshere is on another scale. Their new Norwich-born boss, who cost the Canaries £800,000 in compensation in order to get him from Bristol City, is well-established in the EFL coaching ranks thanks to multiple jobs across its divisions.

The former England midfielder's lack of years in the role was hinted at as an issue by Knapper when he explained why Wilshere wasn't going to get the job, despite his belief that the former assistant will go on to do great things in his new line of work.

"There's no doubt for me that he will be a top head coach. He's hungry, he's ambitious," he said. "Everything that we've seen from him since we've been here would suggest that he will get to that place. But where he's at in his journey, I just didn't feel that this was that particular moment in time."

It ultimately would have been a big risk to go with the 33-year-old. Putting the club in his hands would've opened up all ends of the spectrum for the Canaries. After a disappointing season last time out, the more assured future that now lies ahead of them with Manning should stand them in better stead than if they'd have taken a gamble on Wilshere.