Pundit drops "exciting" Norwich City, Johannes Hoff Thorup claim | OneFootball

Sam Parkin has given his verdict on Norwich City's start to the season

EFL pundit Sam Parkin has picked Norwich City as one of his standout sides in the Championship so far.

The Canaries made an initial slow start to the new season, losing their opening day fixture to Oxford United.

However, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side have hit their stride in recent weeks, moving up to seventh in the table going into the current international break.

Three wins in their last four has brought them to within a point of the play-off places after nine games.

Wins against Watford, Derby County and Hull City, as well as a draw against Leeds United, have seen them earn 10 points from their last 12, scoring 12 goals in the process.

Sam Parkin credits Thorup’s impact at Norwich

Parkin has compared the arrival of new managers at Hull and Norwich following their meeting last weekend at Carrow Road, which the hosts won 4-0.

He believes Thorup deserves a lot of credit for the impressive brand of football the Canaries have played during their recent run of good form, especially compared to how Tim Walter has fared with the Tigers.

“I was very fortunate I think to watch them on Saturday [against Hull], and arguably the performance of the weekend I would suggest,” said Parkin, via the What The EFL?! podcast.

“I thought it was interesting for me to see two teams that have two new managers, a lot of new players, big overhauls in the squad, a lot of players from different leagues across Europe and the world.

“And seeing the gulf really in the two teams as to where they are right now was a bit of an eye-opener to me.

“All credit to Johannes Hoff Thorup for the way that he’s started at Norwich.

“I thought it was a brilliant brand of football that they’re playing.

“Fast, attacking football, not obsessed with possession.

“When the ball turns over they go at the opposition with pace, and they’ve got some players that are playing with ridiculous levels of confidence at the moment, none more so than Sainz on the left-hand side who is arguably the top man in the Championship currently.

“[Marcelino] Nunez in midfield, and Kenny McLean, they hardly broke sweat in this game.”

Parkin believes that the Norwich squad is strong across all areas of the pitch now after their smart summer recruitment, and has highlighted Josh Sargent as one of the best players in his position in the division.

“I think in every department now, I think the full-backs as well, [Kellen] Fisher who they got from Bromley, who is a lovely little bit of recruitment alongside all these interesting names and players that have come from overseas,” he added.

“Him and Callum Doyle, I wouldn’t say it’s akin to Tottenham, but they do both invert at the same time, they don’t go ridiculously high.

“But they are both getting involved in offensive play, and Doyle, we've seen him so often in the Championship, is a really good centre-half, left-sided centre-half, at times he’d have to go to left-back at Leicester.

“But he’s been given real license to get forward and join in.

“So it’s very difficult to single out individuals.

“This at the moment is just a really fun, exciting team, and they are, after a slow start to the season where they lost to Oxford, are really motoring now.

“Obviously, my favourite position at the pitch, I don’t think there’s a better forward at the moment, despite the chances he’s missing, and that the penalty he missed at the weekend, I think Josh Sargent in terms of a modern-day number nine who can press, who can run the channels, hold the ball, get into goal-scoring positions.

“He’s the top man right now.

“Really impressed with them, more than anything really impressed with the new coach in the Championship.”

Norwich City will be aiming for promotion with recent form

Norwich finished sixth last season but opted to change managers anyway despite coming close to Premier League promotion.

This is a new era at Carrow Road after Ben Knapper replaced Stuart Webber behind the scenes, and he will shape the vision of the first team squad, including being heavily involved in Thorup’s arrival in the summer.

This could’ve easily been considered a bit of a transition season for the club, especially with Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe leaving in the summer, but their recent form has shown that this might not be the case.

If they can keep performing like this, particularly the rate at which they’re scoring goals, then Norwich will have their sights set on another top six finish this season.