What Liam Manning has said about Harry Darling as Norwich City chase Swansea star | OneFootball

Manning is looking to bring his former defender to Carrow Road

With Liam Manning confirmed as the new man in the Norwich City hotseat, the Canaries can begin planning towards the upcoming Championship season.

Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2022, the Canaries have only come close to swiftly ending their current hiatus, having finished sixth in the second tier in 2023/24 under David Wagner.

Both the German and his successor, Johannes Hoff Thorup, have been dismissed since then, and the East Anglian side have now opted to bring Manning to his native Norfolk after also finishing inside the play-offs with Bristol City, before losing 6-0 on aggregate to Sheffield United in the semi-finals.

Plenty of transfer speculation has already swirled around Carrow Road, largely in the form of exit talk as strong interest in top marksmen Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent continues to intensify, whilst Tyrhys Dolan has been linked with a move to the club as his contract is set to expire at Blackburn Rovers.

Harry Darling is another man with strong Championship pedigree also out-of-contract as things stand, and has also been linked with a move to Norwich, as well as upcoming divisional rivals in the form of Birmingham City and Wrexham, whilst also being a previous target for the Blades.

The 25-year-old is someone who Manning knows well, having worked together at MK Dons, with the 39-year-old installed in Buckinghamshire just months after the centre-back moved from Cambridge United, and FLW looks back at previous praise he earned from the new Canaries boss as the aforementioned links surface.

Harry Darling left significant impression on Liam Manning during exceptional MK Dons campaign

Manning was appointed as head coach at Stadium MK in August 2021, with the defender signing seven months prior under former Norwich cult hero, Russell Martin.

In what was Darling's first and only full season with the Dons, he excelled under Manning, earning plenty of plaudits alongside Scott Twine, who netted 20 league goals, and centre-forward, Mo Eisa.

As he has gone on to prove so many times for Swansea City, the Cambridge-born figure continuously impressed with his ball-playing ability and composure, as well as his threat from attacking set-pieces. This led to him being the club's fourth-highest scorer in the league with seven goals, adding a further three in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy to hit double-figures across 49 appearances in all competitions.

Darling would then reunite with the aforementioned Martin in South Wales for a fee reportedly north of £1m on a three-year deal, and he certainly went with Manning's blessing.

“Harry goes with our best wishes and I'm sure he'll continue to go on an upward trajectory," he told MK's official club channels in August 2022.

“He had a tremendous season with us and I cannot speak highly enough of him firstly as a person and as a player. As everyone knows, this is what this club is about and we showed we can manage it last summer with Twiney coming in for Scott Fraser, and then we showed it again in January."

Harry Darling reunion would make complete sense for Liam Manning and Norwich City

Whilst both Birmingham and Wrexham are expected to invest heavily in their squads, and have been tipped by many to enjoy strong seasons immediately after promotion, Darling's previous success under Manning means that Norwich could be in with a high chance of landing his signature.

As well as immediately being able to settle into the style of play which would be incorporated at Carrow Road, his defensive prowess makes it a no-brainer given City's defensive woes last season, which saw them concede 68 goals - the fifth-highest in the division and only one fewer than Luton Town, who were relegated.

Darling has also continued to showcase his ability from an attacking sense, scoring 12 times in 108 Championship appearances thus far. With Norwich expected to lose Sainz and Sargent, who netted 33 of their 71 goals last term, it is important that goals come from all angles if the Canaries are to mount a sustained play-off bid during Manning's first season, which will no doubt be the aim given his exploits at Ashton Gate.