What Ben Knapper has said about Norwich City signing Harry Darling from Swansea
Ben Knapper has admitted that Norwich City are “aware” of reported target Harry Darling, who new manager Liam Manning believes would be a “great fit” at Carrow Road.
Swansea City’s central defender has attracted a lot of interest from clubs this summer, one of whom being the Canaries.
According to local outlet The Pink Un, City are looking to beat Championship rivals Birmingham City and Wrexham to the 25-year-old, who previously worked with Manning during their respective times with MK Dons.
People within Swansea, including director of football Richard Montague, retain hope that Darling will stick around with the Welsh side beyond this summer, but they have formulated plans for the event that would leave them without their star defender.
Manning was officially appointed by Norwich last Tuesday evening and has already made one signing. Goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw has moved to Carrow Road from Plymouth Argyle for £600,000, as per Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph. The Canaries reportedly paid £200,000 more than that to secure Manning’s services.
Ben Knapper and Liam Manning make Harry Darling claims amid links
The former Bristol City boss, in his first press conference since moving back to his hometown of Norwich, stated that he didn’t want to reveal any official plans for how many players he wants to sign, but he did namedrop Darling as someone that he thinks would be a good addition.
He said, via The Pink Un: “I don’t want to put a number on that, but I’ve done my best to assess the squad and we know which positions we’re going for. I had a good time with Harry (Darling) a few years ago, I’m sure he’ll have a lot of offers but I think he’d be a great fit.”
Knapper, Norwich’s Sporting Director, added on Swansea’s central defender: “He’s somebody we’re aware of and think is a fantastic player, but I don’t know yet. He’ll have a lot of offers and there are a lot of players we’re looking at. When there are updates we’ll let you guys know.”
Norwich must address their defensive woes this summer; Harry Darling would be a good start
City’s defence was their biggest weak point last season. They had two of the top four scorers in the whole of the Championship – Borja Sainz (18) and Josh Sargent (15) – and yet still ended the season in the bottom half of the division.
This could, in part, be pinned on former boss Johannes Hoff Thorup and his tactics, but the requisite quality in that backline was near enough none existent, especially when they got a couple of injuries here and there.
A combination of Manning and Darling would certainly help that cause. They kept 22 clean sheets between them last season; 10 for the boss and 12 for the defensive target. Norwich only kept eight and conceded 1.5 goals per game – 0.3 more per game than the Robins did.
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