Aston Villa, Newcastle plot summer transfer move - Norwich City will be on red alert | OneFootball

The ex-Canaries ace could move to the Premier League in the summer transfer window

Norwich City could be in for a big upcoming pre-season as they look to build on the initial progress made under Philippe Clement's management.

The Belgian has done a remarkable job in the eyes of many since his appointment at Carrow Road in November, with the Canaries languishing inside the Championship's relegation zone at the time after the disastrous and ill-fated five-month tenure of Liam Manning.

Despite seeing previous Yellows favourite and goalscoring hotshot, Josh Sargent, controversially leave Norfolk in February after a well-documented dispute, as well as a major injury crisis involving several key first-team players, Norwich are certainly looking upwards at this moment in time.

They recently rose into the second tier's top ten through a run of five wins in six league matches, with a 1-0 success over Charlton Athletic at The Valley on Saturday afternoon the latest of those.

Ultimately, a poor start to the campaign has now held Norwich back from reaching the play-off places for a second time in three seasons, having finished sixth in the 2023/24 season under David Wagner, before being heavily beaten by Leeds United at the semi-final stage.

Those two encounters were not just Wagner's last matches in charge, but also the last time Brazilian ace, Gabriel Sara, donned the yellow and green in a competitive outing.

However, fresh speculation involving the 26-year-old will certainly have the higher-ups at Carrow Road on red alert heading into the summer.

Norwich City hold a sell-on clause for Gabriel Sara amid Aston Villa, Newcastle United transfer speculation

Sara has been on an upward career trajectory for some time, with his largely stellar performances in Norwich's midfield under Dean Smith and Wagner seeing the Canaries make a major profit on his services.

The Brazilian was plucked from Brazilian Serie A side, São Paulo, on a four-year contract in July 2022 for a fee in excess of £10m, and he went on to score 21 times and provide a further 17 assists for the club across just 96 appearances.

With Norwich unable to regain their Premier League status two years ago, it felt inevitable that Sara would exit the Yellows, doing exactly that in August 2024 when Turkish Süper Lig giants, Galatasaray, reportedly agreed a £20m deal, which included a further £2.5m which could be paid out in bonuses.

Another key detail is that City inserted a sell-on clause as part of the deal, and it is this particular aspect which will keep the hierarchy abreast on transfer developments involving the box-to-box ace.

Sara has enjoyed plenty of success in Istanbul with his current employers, winning the league with 95 points last season, whilst scoring eight times and posting 13 assists in his first 84 outings for the club.

After impressing in the UEFA Champions League also, the midfielder has now received a maiden call-up to the Brazilian national team in the final international break before the FIFA World Cup.

And, although the figure of Norwich's aforementioned sell-on clause hasn't been disclosed, the Canaries could be set for a major windfall, with TEAMtalk reporting that as many as five Premier League sides hold an interest in striking a deal.

The most high-profile of those clubs are Aston Villa - who are chasing UEFA Champions League football - and Newcastle United, whilst Brentford, Brighton and AFC Bournemouth are also keen.

Norwich City supporters won't be surprised by Gabriel Sara's current success

Given his exploits at Carrow Road, it won't be the greatest of surprises to Norwich fans that Sara has been linked with a return to England - this time in the top-flight.

During his Championship days, the midfielder was often a cut above the rest when it came to his individual quality and potential, and that has certainly been realised at RAMS Park with Galatasaray.

As such, his potential exit could, in some ways, help his former employers rebuild in the summer for Clement's first pre-season in East Anglia, where he will hope to build on the current wave of momentum throughout the entirety of a 46-game campaign.