The £4.3m Norwich City star who must hate what this ex-Sheffield Wednesday star is doing | OneFootball

Papa Diallo hasn't been able to get his Norwich City career going just yet, and Anthony Musaba's first goal for the club won't help things progress

Norwich City returned to winning ways and climbed into the top half of the Championship after handing Sheffield United their first defeat of the season on Saturday.

The Canaries bounced back from a very disappointing defeat at Stoke City in midweek with a resounding 3-1 win at Bramall Lane, in which Phillipe Clement's side began to click a lot more going forward, taking the plethora of chances they created.

The addition of Anthony Musaba into the starting lineup helped, with the former Sheffield Wednesday man striking from distance against the Owls' Steel City rivals to put his current employers ahead.

That's now a goal and an assist in just two league starts for the 25-year-old after setting up Andre Brooks in the 4-1 rout of Burnley just over a week ago. Evidently, he's angling for a more permanent role from the off, which will frustrate those in reserve.

Papa Amadou Diallo's injury-hit debut year at Norwich City

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This time last year, Norwich brought Papa Amadou Diallo in from Metz to try and freshen up the left wing role at Carrow Road.

The Canaries spent a package worth £4.3 million on the then-21-year-old, beating Championship rivals Watford to his signature.

Diallo had chipped in with some goals as a teenager while Metz were a Ligue 1 side, but their relegation to the French second tier helped him really shine. He scored seven and assisted five, helping his side earn promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.

Unfortunately, his debut campaign with Norwich was plagued by injury. A quad injury saw him sidelined for nearly four months just five games into his Championship career, and four games after that, an injury in the warm-up for a game against Blackburn Rovers curtailed his season.

Papa Amadou Diallo is yet to start for Norwich City this season

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With a full pre-season at Norwich, Diallo would have been hoping to remain injury-free and begin to showcase why the Canaries spent a decent seven-figure fee to bring him to the club last year.

Ideally, the 22-year-old would have been competing with Ali Ahmed for starting minutes until the Canadian suffered a devastating season-ending ACL injury just days before the new campaign began.

While a new winger was now on the cards at Carrow Road, Diallo likely would have played on the left while that new arrival, ultimately turning out to be Musaba, got up to speed with Philippe Clement's style of play.

However, the 22-year-old hasn't started a game for Norwich yet this year. Attacking midfielders Oscar Scwartau and Paris Maghoma have deputised when Musaba hasn't started, with Diallo left to come off the bench in all five league outings thus far.

Granted, he's been one of Clement's main finishers, and none of his appearances has seen him play fewer than 18 minutes, but the former Metz man isn't being seen as a starter.

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There's no doubting that Musaba is emerging as one of the first names on the teamsheet for Phillipe Clement currently.

The 25-year-old was a strong wide option for a mid-table Sheffield Wednesday side a few years ago, and now, with better options around him, you can tell he's worth a place in a promotion-challenging outfit.

Both Musaba's starts have seen Norwich win, scoring seven goals in the process. Indeed, in the four Championship games he's featured in, the Canaries have scored just once with him off the field.

Coming on at half-time against Stoke in midweek with the score at 1-0 almost shows that the winger is seen as someone who can change games, and as long as he's fit, he should be starting, which will be very frustrating to someone like Diallo.

Papa Amadou Diallo needs to prove himself in his bench appearances to garner more starting minutes

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Ultimately, while Diallo would have had a big opportunity to take that starting spot off the left with Ahmed out injured, the 22-year-old hasn't done enough to warrant taking it.

Diallo has averaged 23 minutes off the bench per game through five outings, two of which have seen the scoreline in the balance upon his introduction, but he's yet to provide a goal contribution.

He hasn't provided that much-needed spark off the bench in games so far, and with Musaba taking the chances afforded to him, Diallo's minutes may end up decreasing even further.

Philippe Clement has a very competitive squad at Carrow Road, and the Belgian boss will demand the best from his players each week. If Diallo is to get more game time from the off, he'll need to impress in his bench cameos in the meantime.