Norwich manager Wagner has vital decisions to make over his forward line

Adam Idah looked up as he lay face first on the Carrow Road turf. His expression projected befuddlement and was one that looked for reassurance.

The 22-year-old Republic of Ireland striker had been sent through on goal by Onel Hernandez. He did well to hurdle the outstretched leg of Cardiff City goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, but then found himself a little wider than he would have liked.

The result was Idah blazing his shot over the open goal and ending up face down in the grass. He eventually managed to bring himself to look up.

There will not be a single striker in world football who does not know when they last hit the back of the net and that miss last Saturday means that Idah has now gone 10 games without scoring.

However, it should be noted that he has only played the full 90 minutes in four of those matches and that he has managed to get back to full fitness this season following two difficult years of injury setbacks.

And while he has scored just one goal in 14 games in the league this campaign, he has only been on the pitch for 701 minutes. This means he is averaging 50 minutes per match.

The relative lack of minutes puts the lack of goals into perspective and the fact he signed a new five-year contract with Norwich at the start of February shows that the club have faith in him.

This is highlighted by the fact the he has started each of Norwich’s last four games — only twice before in his career has he started consecutive league games.

There was the pair of fixtures either side of New Year, under the caretaker management team of Allan Russell and Steve Weaver following Dean Smith’s sacking, and, before that, he started five consecutive Premier League games from late December to early February last season — a run that was ended by a knee injury.

During those five starts in the top flight, the striker scored against Everton and assisted Teemu Pukki for a goal against Crystal Palace. Yet his most eye-catching performance came in defeat at West Ham. It was a superb display and one that will have formed much of the thinking behind Norwich’s fresh, long-term commitment that was penned last month.

David Wagner is the latest head coach to work with Idah and he has been impressed by what he has seen, saying: “He is a top talent. (He is) very young still and you can see how interesting and how much space for improvement he has.”

And while there have been missed chances and a lack of goals — Idah’s runs in behind opposition defenders, his physical data and the way he helps improve link-up play have all excited Wagner.

The fact that four of the 14 league games Idah has started for Norwich since his debut in 2019 have come in the past three weeks speaks to how he is very much in his manager’s good books right now.

The recent run of starts is partly down to circumstance, it should be added. USA forward Josh Sargent has been sidelined with an ankle injury, while Pukki had also been missing with a calf problem. The Finn’s issue actually began during his half-time warm-up against Hull last month, after being dropped from the starting XI for Idah.

Pukki missed three games and returned with a substitute appearance against Cardiff and is now fit enough to start again. Meanwhile, Sargent has missed the last two games but Norwich are hopeful he will be back very soon.

It appears that all three will receive minutes during the remainder of the season, but the question is how much playing time will each get?

The long-term picture (beyond this season) may well see Norwich operate with just two of those three names. While Idah and Sargent remain in the early stages of their careers and are contracted to the summers of 2025 and 2028 respectively, Pukki’s stay is currently set to expire in three months.

Wagner revealed in one of his first press conferences that an extended contract offer from Norwich had been with Pukki for several months and added that the Finn — who will make his 200th appearance for Norwich if he plays against Millwall on Saturday — had wanted to wait until the summer before making a decision.

There remains hope at Norwich that the 32-year-old, who is fourth on the club’s all-time list of top scorers, may opt for another season at least.

But for now, Wagner’s most pressing concern is how to set up his forward line over the coming weeks as Norwich battle for a play-off place. This starts with the crucial clash against fifth-placed Millwall in London on Saturday — Gary Rowett’s team are two points clear of Norwich.

With Idah now looking more and more like a regular starter and Sargent close to returning, Pukki’s place is no longer completely guaranteed — which is a change given he has been almost ever-present in Norwich’s line-up since joining in the summer of 2018.

Pukki’s contract situation will no doubt be a factor in Wagner’s thinking, but whatever decision the manager comes to in terms of his preferred front men, he has to hope it pays off as Norwich enter a crucial few weeks in their bid for promotion.

(Top photo: Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images)