Norwich City: Pink Un Podcast on Thorup, Cordoba and more

PD: There is a lot of positivity around this football club now. Last time we sat down in this sort of setting, David Wagner had just been sacked as Norwich City head coach and there was a lot of uncertainty around what was next.

Now there's quite an exciting, progressive, forward-thinking appointment in Johannes Hoff Thorup. It feels positive, it feels fresh. From what I do know about his career so far, it is going to be radically different from Wagner and the kind of personnel, the style of football he was using on the pitch.

SS: It's always positive in pre-season to an extent, but the amount of change that's taken place in such a short period of time since Leeds, it almost feels like a completely different club now. Not only because of the change in head coach, but also the players they've let go and the signing of Jose Cordoba.

I think it's pretty exciting, and Norwich fans are pretty excited about it. There will be a degree of patience needed, and it's not the sort of visceral excitement that makes you feel like Norwich are going to win the league next season, but it feels now like they're entering a prolonged project with clear aims and a clear philosophy.

CS: There were a lot of times where I just didn't enjoy the product last season, even in its best form. This is just personal choice, because there's no right way to do it. But it feels like excitement and optimism has been in short supply since even before relegation under Dean Smith.

It hasn't felt like this for a little while, and maybe that's just because it's different and people don't know a lot about it. The unknown is sexy sometimes. But there is excitement, and there is optimism. That's really refreshing compared to what it was throughout last season. Goodness me, how do you even begin to sum that up?

But let's talk about Jose Cordoba now. In 2018 the first signing through the door was Emi Buendia, after relegation in 2022 they wanted to get some athletic players in and the first permanent signing was Gabriel Sara, and this time it's been Cordoba. 

What does his addition tell us about where Norwich are, and probably more importantly where they want to go?

Jose Cordoba became Norwich City's first signing of the summer (Image: Levski Sofia)

SS: It's almost a double-intelligent signing when you put the Panama and Bulgaria elements together, and it does feel, not only in terms of his profile but the way he was found, like what Norwich are going to represent going forward.

A lot of their best signings have been data-led, so that is an encouraging sign. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone given Ben Knapper's background, and the club were trying to improve the quality of their data usage even before he arrived.

Both in terms of that and the fact that Cordoba is a young centre-back who's comfortable on the ball, he very much seems to fit the philosophy Knapper has talked about since he arrived at the club.

Ben Knapper has started to put his plan into action (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

AH: If you look at his size and watch a little bit of his time in Bulgaria, there's clearly a level of aggression there. I spoke to a Bulgarian journalist more about him, and he did speak about things that needed to be nurtured.

There may be games where he makes mistakes, and it's about how he bounces back from that. The training pitch is going to be a key part of his development moving forward. There is a lot of good stuff there to work with, but there are also things he needs to improve.

You look at him as a player and the price Norwich have paid for him, if they can help him reach his potential as a left-footed centre-back, there is a prospective financial gain there for them. But for this season it is going to be about managing expectations.

CS: Yeah, we all know how sought after left-sided centre-backs are. They're difficult to find, but if you can find a good one, nurture them and curb some of those rough edges, pretty quickly they can become assets for you.