Norwich City silver lining pinpointed despite Celtic entering transfer battle - it involves £1.2m sensation | OneFootball

FLW’s Norwich City fan pundit has discussed Celtic entering the race for Canaries target Kasper Hogh.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Norwich City are a side transformed since Philippe Clement entered the Carrow Road hotseat.

Under Liam Manning, the Canaries were hurtling towards relegation down to League One, breaking so many unwanted records.

Manning posted the worst win rate of any Norwich boss in the club’s history, while his team also set some unwanted records.

Earlier this term, Norwich were on the wrong side of creating history after becoming the first team in the club’s existence to lose their opening five home games of a campaign.

And their misery was compounded after the Canaries suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Ipswich Town in the East Anglian derby at the beginning of October 2025, with this the first time the Tractor Boys secured a victory over Norwich in 16 years.

But now under Clement, the only way is up, with the Frenchman completing a remarkable turnaround for a team that looked destined for the relegation trapdoor.

Under his guidance, the Canaries have won half of the 14 league games he’s been in charge for, but six of those victories have come in the last nine games, while the Norfolk outfit have won their last three games on the bounce.

Their confidence was on show when they toppled the league leaders Coventry City 2-1 on Monday evening, while they had previously trounced West Brom and earned an unlikely win on the road at promotion-contending Wrexham.

How far they can go up the league remains to be seen, but they are certainly the inform team in the division and could have one eye on a late charge for the play-offs.

In order to keep this form going, the January transfer window provides an opportunity to add much-needed quality and depth to certain areas of the squad.

And one of those is in the forward department, with Norwich still in the race to sign Bodo/Glimt frontman Kasper Hogh, who recently scored a sensational brace in the UEFA Champions League against Manchester City.

However, Scottish giants Celtic have reportedly entered the race, which could well scupper the Canaries' attempts to lure him to Carrow Road, even though they themselves have submitted a new €8 million (£6.94 million) bid, as per Fabrizio Romano.

With this news in mind, FLW’s Norwich City fan pundit has commented on if he is concerned by Celtic’s emerging interest and whether the club can still do enough to get Hogh to make the move over to England.

Norwich City being joined by Celtic for Kasper Hogh could be a blessing in disguise

Speaking to Football League World, Norwich City fan pundit Zeke Downes has admitted he would be left “disappointed” if they were to lose out on signing Kasper Hogh, but believes that it could be a silver lining in order to keep £1.2 million striker Jovon Makama leading the line and continuing his steady development.

Zeke told FLW: “I would be disappointed to lose out on him. We’ve obviously been looking at him for a little while and had very strong interest in him, but I think him scoring twice in the Champions League didn’t do us any favours, that probably then got some eyes on him from other clubs.

“But then at the same time, he might be looking at this team now and thinking something might be happening here, and if he’s had a chat with Clement, then he might have got excited about this project.

“It is a drop, going from the Champions League to the Championship, near the relegation zone, at this point, but I don’t think we’ll end up anywhere near this point at the end of the season, but regardless, I think he may end up going elsewhere.

“It’s a weird one because you don’t want to bring him in, and then it ruins the growth of Makama, because he has been doing really well, and I feel like bringing in a guy who would expect to play is a risk, and you don’t want to chuck Makama out on the wing.

“If it happens, it happens, I don’t mind either way really, as I don’t want to block Makama.”

Norwich City will lack forward depth if they lose out on Kasper Hogh

While Jovon Makama is a shining light for Norwich City in the Championship right now, a run of bad form or an injury to their summer signing would leave the Canaries badly short for the remainder of the season, particularly when Josh Sargent remains absent from first-team duties, attempting to push through a move to Toronto FC.

Therefore, Norwich still lack crucial depth in their attack over what will be a relentless second half of the Championship campaign, while they can’t afford to rest on their laurels and hope that Makama will continue his rich vein of form.

There is now doubt creeping him about whether Hogh’s next club will be Norwich, purely because of Celtic’s involvement in the race.

Celtic remain in the Scottish Premiership title race, despite the presence of surprise league leaders Hearts, while the Glaswegian outfit can also offer the appeal of European football the following campaign, if he was to link up in January.

In contrast, Norwich's immediate aim is to stave off the threat of relegation to League One, so you would make Celtic the favourites purely based on what they can offer the 25-year-old.

Even if Norwich suffer a setback and don’t manage to land the forward, they should be looking to move for other targets. The Canaries have been in the Championship long enough to know that you need competition in every position, so they should be preparing for every eventuality and adding the cover required to sustain a rise up the table.