"A shame" - Norwich City: Ben Knapper breaks Jon Rowe silence amid transfer assessment | OneFootball

Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has assessed his side's summer transfer window, offering a verdict on the Jon Rowe saga

Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has delivered an honest assessment on the club's summer window, which included significant and long-winded transfer sagas involving Adam Idah, Jon Rowe and Abu Kamara.

It proved to be a trying period for the Canaries, who lost talismanic midfielder Gabriel Sara to Galatasaray as the first of numerous high-profile departures.

Following the sale of Sara, academy graduates Rowe and Kamara both voiced their desires to leave Carrow Road in the summer by handing in transfer requests, while Idah reportedly failed to report for a team flight during the side's pre-season tour of Austria, eventually sealing a permanent return to Celtic.

Rowe, who scored 12 league goals for Norwich in his first season as a regular fixture last term, is said to have decided to withdraw himself from first-team duty just 20 minutes before their opening day match away to newly-promoted side Oxford United, which they went on to lose 2-0.

After plenty of speculation, Rowe finally sealed his exit by joining Marseille on a loan deal with a £14m obligation clause, which will come into play at the end of the campaign. Meanwhile, Kamara joined Hull City on deadline day, but Knapper remains pleased across the board with the club's summer activity.

Eight fresh faces arrived at the club to offset the nine departures that were sanctioned, with none of Norwich's signings being over the age of 23.

Such business is undeniably indicative of a sustainable and progressive-minded long-term strategy, which Kanpper has hailed in an official verdict of Norwich's transfer window.

Ben Knapper's Norwich City, Jon Rowe transfer verdict

Despite losing a clutch of young, high-potential, high-performing assets, Knapper has lauded the direction in which Norwich are heading under his stewardship.

"Over the piece, I’m really happy with what we did," Knapper told Norwich's 'On the Ball' video series, via their official YouTube channel.

"I think we managed to execute pretty much everything that we wanted to and really start the process of shaping the squad in the way we wanted to do.

"We spoke before about key strategic intentions - reducing the age profile, trying to bring some high potential assets into the group.

"We’ve started the process of building in this new direction. I’m really pleased with it and I think we’ve got some exciting players that we’re building."

However, Knapper did not hide his disappointment at the transfer episode with Rowe, as the 21-year-old was poised to be a key part of the club's long-term ambitions.

"We’d worked so hard over a number of weeks to prepare and build up to that first game and 20 minutes before the team meeting, everything gets thrown up into the air," he added.

"Of course it was a difficult day for us, and it did feel like that set the tone.

"But it is what it is. We’ve moved forward past that point, and it’s a shame that, ultimately, Jonny has left the club because he was a player that we loved and really wanted to build with him.

"I envisaged this team going on a journey and Jonny being a really big part of that, but we had to adapt quickly to find a solution and I think we managed to do that."

Ben Knapper and Norwich City need Kaide Gordon impact following Jon Rowe, Abu Kamara exits

Losing two young academy graduates who had each enjoyed productive campaigns last time out was a monumental and unprecedented blow for Norwich's immediate and long-term visions.

They had to act, then, and sought action by striking a season-long loan deal for highly-rated Liverpool youngster Kaide Gordon.

Gordon is held in a glowing regard at Anfield and had received first-team opportunities under iconic former boss Jurgen Klopp, although recent injury setbacks have halted his development somewhat.

Still only 19 years of age, Gordon is a precocious talent who, despite injuries, is perhaps already at a more advanced stage of his development than Rowe and Kamara were just over twelve months ago.

However, there will be a slither of concern for Norwich to have replaced two permanent departures with a loanee who has lost his way a tad. Therefore, Norwich and Knapper will be crying out for vindication in their decision to entrust Gordon at the expense of bringing a replacement to the club on a permanent basis.

They were powerless to prevent the exits of Rowe and Kamara and deserve credit for getting the finances of those departures very much on their terms first, but Gordon now needs to make a serious impression in the Championship to provide the voids are not too sorely felt.