New Norwich City manager search twist emerges - it involves Jon Dahl Tomasson | OneFootball

A fresh update has emerged in Norwich City's search for a new head coach following the recent sacking of Liam Manning

A fresh twist has emerged in Norwich City's ongoing search for a new head coach to replace recently-axed former boss Liam Manning, with the Canaries now closing in on a new managerial hire.

Manning was appointed over the summer in a bid to build upon the previous campaign's disappointing mid-table finish and compete for promotion back to the Premier League, with the 40-year-old having earned plaudits for guiding Bristol City to the play-offs.

However, the Norwich-born manager's time at Carrow Road proved both brief and disastrous as he won just two of his 15 league matches in charge before being sacked following a 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City ahead of the international break, with protests against both Manning and unpopular sporting director symbolising the depth of frustrations among supporters.

The Canaries, who are positioned 23rd in the table and only above crisis-stricken Sheffield Wednesday, find themselves searching for a third permanent managerial appointment this year, having also dismissed Johannes Hoff Thorup towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

A host of names have been linked with the Norfolk vacancy, including ex-Norwich trio Mark Fotheringham, Russell Martin and Gary O'Neil alongside Will Still, with the Belgian boss fresh off the back of his dismissal from Championship rivals Southampton.

Indeed, talks were reportedly held with the latter two over a potential move to the East Anglian outfit, although both have since been ruled out and Norwich appear to be edging closer to the latest appointment of Mark Attanasio's reign.

Jon Dahl Tomasson a leading contender for Norwich City manager job

Now, according to a fresh update via X from Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph, Jon Dahl Tomasson has emerged as a "leading candidate" to become Manning's successor at Norwich.

It's said that Tomasson has impressed the Canaries hierarchy, who intend on advancing negotiations with their final candidates over the next couple of days, with Joseph having previously reported that talks had been held between the Dane and the club's chief decision-makers.

Elsewhere, BBC Radio Norfolk have disclosed that just three candidates, including Tomasson, remain in contention to be appointed at Norwich.

Tomasson, however, appears to represent the strongest contender at this moment in time, meaning a return to the Championship just under two years after his controversial exit from Blackburn Rovers looks likely.

The 49-year-old spent a season-and-a-half in charge at Ewood Park before departing in February 2024 amid discontentment surrounding transfer budget cuts, having only missed out on a play-off finish by goal difference during his first term with the one-time Premier League champions.

Tomasson made a swift return to management by taking over the Swedish national team, but was sacked in October following an abject start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, in which they recorded just one point from four games under the ex-Newcastle United and AC Milan forward.

Jon Dahl Tomasson will need to hit the ground running if hired by Norwich City

Should Tomasson be hired at Norwich, he will face immediate pressure of having to hit the ground running in an effort to alleviate the strugglers away from genuine worries of relegation to League One heading into the festive period and beyond.

Nobody would have envisaged Norwich being in such a position before a ball had been kicked amid a series of high-profile signings and the appointment of Manning, which felt like a shrewd one at the time, but with a four-point gap separating themselves from 21st-placed Oxford United and just nine points from 15 matches, the Canaries are staring down the barrel of relegation right now and urgently need an uplift in form.

Tomasson may just be awaited by a baptism of fire, with Norwich returning from the international break with a trip to free-spending Birmingham City this weekend. After that, however, Norwich's next five opponents — Oxford, Queens Park Rangers, Watford, 22nd-placed Sheffield United and Southampton — are all inside the bottom half of the table, representing encounters which could hand early momentum and feel-good factor to a new era at Carrow Road.