Exclusive: Norwich City backed to sign ex-Burnley ace who "absolutely lit up the Championship" | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman urges Norwich City to sign ex-Burnley star Anass Zaroury.

Norwich City are locked in a battle to sign former Burnley attacker Anass Zaroury from Lens.

The Canaries have had a busy summer thus far following the appointment of Liam Manning, who they poached from Bristol City after he led the Robins to the play-offs last term.

The ambitious signings of Mathias Kvistgaarden and Jakov Medic from Brondby and Ajax have both been made as the Canaries look to surge up the standings after a disappointing 13th-place finish last term.

According to L’Equipe, it is believed that Zaroury could leave Lens this summer, having joined the Ligue 1 outfit from Burnley under the management of Will Still last year.

Still has since left for Southampton in the Championship in the last couple of months, and now the Morocco international is set to be deemed surplus to requirements at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Both Coventry and Norwich have shown an interest in the 24-year-old attacker, alongside Greek Super League giants Panathinaikos and La Liga outfit Espanyol. And Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman believes it is absolutely a move that Norwich should make if they can get the best out of the former Burnley star.

"A bit of a world beater" - Don Goodman makes Zaroury claim amid Norwich links

"I think the fact of the matter is that he is still 24 years old," said Goodman, speaking exclusively to Football League World, asked whether the wideman is a good replacement for Borja Sainz.

"I think people forget his age because of his stellar year for Burnley three seasons ago, where he absolutely lit up the Championship. Him on one side, Manuel Benson on the other, and he looked like a bit of a world beater."

Zaroury made 34 Championship appearances for the Clarets as they stormed to the title in 2023, scoring seven goals and registering five assists.

"He didn't get much of a chance in the Premier League, then went on loan to Hull, where they could not get the best out of him, and found himself at Lens last season, where, again, he didn't pull up any trees."

"If a club like Norwich can get the best out of Zaroury like Burnley did, then why wouldn't any club in the Championship want him?" Goodman concluded.

Norwich look to surge up the standings under Manning

The appointment of Manning at Carrow Road is expected to see a shift in shape, with the former Oxford United and Milton Keynes Dons having almost exclusively played a back three throughout his managerial career, especially in England.

As well as Kvistgaarden and Medic, Norwich have also brought in goalkeepers Vladan Kovacevic, Daniel Grimshaw and Louie Moulden, as well as defender Harry Darling, midfielder Jacob Wright and widemen Jeff Schlupp and Papa Amadou Diallo.

The expectation will be that Norwich can mount a serious challenge for the top six this season, with a more deliberate and controlled style of Manning to balance against their abundance of attacking potential.

If the Canaries were able to get the best out of a player with Zaroury's talents, then absolutely no harm would be done to this charge up the standings.