Norwich City, Philippe Clement news will provide big relief for £2.3m Canaries star for one clear reason | OneFootball

Jacob Wright could never get going under Liam Manning, so a fresh face in the dugout could be good news for the 20-year-old

After excelling on loan at Norwich City towards the latter half of last season, many were surprised to see Jacob Wright make the move to Carrow Road permanently from Manchester City.

The defensive midfielder, who turned 20 in September, made four senior appearances for Pep Guardiola's side, and many had touted him to make more, especially having ended the 2024/25 campaign with four assists in as many games.

Evidently, Wright wasn't ready for regular football at The Etihad Stadium just yet, but a full season back on loan in the Championship may have set him up for a future at City, or perhaps helped maximise the money the Citizens would have received for him.

In the end, Manchester City were happy to cut ties permanently, and Wright was sold for £2.3 million in the summer to a then-managerless Norwich.

Wright had been receiving regular football under Johannes Hoff Thorup, and that didn't change when Jack Wilshere took over as interim manager for the final two games of last season. However, under Liam Manning, the 20-year-old was hardly given a sniff.

Now, Manning is gone, with former Rangers and Club Brugge manager Philippe Clement at the helm.

Wright desparately needed a man with new ideas in the dugout, and he'll be hoping that this change could benefit his game time.

Jacob Wright has been an afterthought at Norwich City so far this season

Wright arrived at Carrow Road five days before Liam Manning was confirmed as the new Canaries manager for the current season.

The 20-year-old had shown plenty of promise in the few months he spent with Norwich the season before, and under Manning, many felt that he could take a big step towards being one of the better creative assets in the defensive midfield role this season.

Not much has gone right for Norwich so far this season, with the club sat second from bottom in the Championship having failed to win, or even draw, any of their eight games at Carrow Road in all competitions.

However, Wright can't exactly say he's been too much of a contributing factor, as he's hardly contributed.

The former City youngster started two of the opening three games of the campaign. The opening day loss against Millwall, and then a 2-1 home defeat against Middlesbrough a couple of weeks later.

Wright was dismissed for a poor challenge on Aidan Morris on the hour mark against Boro, and after serving his three-match suspension, the 20-year-old has featured just twice from the bench, being an unused substitute on eight seperate occasions.

Whether the nature of the red card changed Wright's standing with Manning, or whether he just fell out of favour naturally, is unknown, but now the former Bristol City boss has been dismissed, it could present an opportunity for a fresh start for the 20-year-old.

Belgian manager Philippe Clement has been seen as a massive coup for the side sitting 23rd in the Championship. As a manager, the 51-year-old has won the Belgian Pro League three times and has kept winning percentages above 50% in each of his last four jobs.

Whilst those percentages can be skewed with the likes of Genk, Club Brugge and Rangers, who are expected to win most weeks, keeping that up with Monaco in Ligue 1 for a year and a half is incredibly impressive.

Norwich fans are rightly excited, and they can possibly share even more excitement at the fact that Wright may be afforded time on the pitch once more.

It's clear that the 20-year-old has immense talent, otherwise he wouldn't have been relied on to partake in multiple EFL Cup games at Manchester City and also wouldn't have been given the captains armband at times for their very successful U21 squad before he moved to Carrow Road on loan in January.

Wright has a fresh start, and an opportunity to prove himself once more. After spending the majority of the last two months on the bench, he'll be raring to go under Clement.