Football League World
·22 October 2024
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·22 October 2024
Jack Wilshere has been linked with a move to join the coaching staff at Norwich City
Johannes Hoff Thorup has all but confirmed the arrival of Jack Wilshere as a coach at Norwich City.
It was reported by Pink Un late last week that the Canaries were in talks to bring the former midfielder to the club as part of the Dane’s coaching staff.
Wilshere is currently working at his former club Arsenal, where he is the manager of the U18 side.
Norwich are searching for a replacement for Narcís Pelach, who left the club to take over as manager at Stoke City in September.
The Championship side will have to negotiate a compensation package with Arsenal as part of the recruitment process, although no stumbling blocks have yet emerged on that front.
Thorup has claimed that he won’t be able to say anything on the matter until Friday, indicating a deal is close to bring Wilshere to the club.
The Norwich head coach has suggested that the timing isn’t quite right at the moment, but that he could be with the team in time for Sunday’s clash against Middlesbrough.
“When is the next press conference? Friday? Can I say something to you on Friday?” said Thorup, via Pink Un.
“We hope at least we can get the candidate in.
“But it's all a matter of timing and it's not the ideal day today, and, of course, tomorrow we’re not in the building.
“Wednesday is a day off, so it's about timing.
"But I think we are close to really finding that candidate that fits us well and will be a good member of the staff.
“One who can support the group and give us some inspiration, also from outside, which is what we want.
“Hopefully before the Sunday game, we have some news.
“I would actually go back to summertime, where we spoke about players leaving us, where my response to that was I think we have to make sure we have people in the building that will be interesting for other clubs.
"It's the same if we have to bring in people, they can see, ‘Okay, this is a special club. We're about to build something special, an environment, a culture and a way of playing that is exciting’.
“People want to be here, and people from outside see the connection we have because it creates some interest and it creates excitement.
“That's what we want. Hopefully we get in a good first team coach.
“That's what we need.”
Norwich took on Pelach’s new side last weekend, with the two sides drawing 1-1, with a goal each right before half time.
The result left Thorup’s side sitting seventh in the Championship table, two points adrift of the play-off places after 10 games.
The Canaries will return to action this midweek, with another full round of games across the division taking place.
Norwich travel to Deepdale to take on Preston North End on Tuesday evening in a 7.45pm kick-off.
Wilshere has impressed a lot of people with the work he’s done at Arsenal, with a number of talented young players now coming through on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s first team.
The step up to coaching with the first team will be a big test for the 32-year-old, but Thorup will be an exciting manager to work under and gain some valuable experience.
This is an exciting adventure for both Wilshere and the club, and one that could prove very fruitful if he manages to translate well to his new surroundings.
Norwich have done well without Pelach in the coaching staff over the last month, but a replacement is still needed to cover for the work he did, and Wilshere is a great solution to take up his role.