Onel Hernandez sends clear Norwich City transfer message | OneFootball

Two-time Championship winner with Norwich City, Onel Hernandez, knows that improvements must be made, but also feels the Canaries should be patient

The 2025/26 campaign for Norwich City ended over a week ago, but given how they finished the campaign, many at Carrow Road cannot wait for the 2026/27 term to begin.

After 15 games this season, Norwich were second-bottom in the Championship with nine points and had lost all eight of their home games under Liam Manning.

Fast-forward to late April, the Canaries were still in with an outside shot at finishing in the play-offs with two games remaining, and even though they picked up just one point out of those two games, they finished ninth, which no one would have expected a few months into the season.

The reason for that surge up the table? The hiring of Philippe Clement and the way the Belgian boss was able to bring the best out of the players at his disposal. They also had a brilliant January transfer window, too. Ali Ahmed, Paris Maghoma and Mo Toure, when all fit, were some of the best players in the division in the second half of the season.

The key there, though, is 'when fit'. Norwich arguably had the worst injury record in the second tier this season, and the focus this summer will be to ensure that more depth is added as they look to push even further up the table in Clement's first full campaign in charge at Carrow Road.

Onel Hernandez hopes that faith is kept in the current attacking options at Norwich City

Only five players at Norwich made over 25 league starts this season, highlighting how difficult it was for the playing personnel to stay fit. Top scorer Jovon Makama only started 18 times. Toure, who scored nine in 11, also missed time through injury after arriving midway through the season.

Additionally, the likes of Papa Diallo, Ante Crnac and Matej Jurasek all spent long periods on the sidelines. Ironically enough, the attacker who played the most minutes for Norwich in the Championship was Josh Sargent, who last played in January before moving to Toronto.

However, despite the clear need to add more consistent goals to the frontline, former two-time Championship title winner at Norwich, Onel Hernandez, urged the club to stick with some of the current personnel in attacking areas.

"I feel like for what they have at the moment, it's good," Hernandez said, via the Pink Un. "Ali Ahmed did very well. You've got, obviously, Diallo as well on the wing. You've still got Jurasek. I didn't see a lot from him, to be honest, but I know there's a lot of potential there.

"It's just to get into the game better and do more, get more assists to him, more game time and goals. But I believe that there's probably one or two positions that you will strengthen and then see from there.

"I think you should stick with the players because, as you've seen, Makama is coming back. Then Mo Toure. When was the last time that you saw a player, and you saw someone doing hat-tricks like that? He looks like a monster as well.

"There's a lot of young potential. Clement will probably know what he needs, which positions he could just adjust and get some good players. We need players who score goals."

Norwich City will pray for good injury luck next season

Hernandez rightly picked out Toure for praise, who scored a goal every 66 minutes in the limited time he had on the field, which included hat-tricks in wins against Oxford United and Bristol City.

The 22-year-old is definitely one to watch next season, and if he can remain injury-free, he'll likely be among the pre-season favourites to win the Golden Boot.

Then, Makama, also 22, had started to excel as a central striker under Clement, scoring 10 goals, until a foot injury in February put an end to his campaign prematurely. His final game of the season came in Toure's debut, so Norwich fans are understandably excited to see what the young duo can do together.

Also, full seasons for the likes of Ahmed and Maghoma are something to look forward to, plus the other players who have come into the limelight under Clement. If they can all stay free from injury, the Canaries will be an intriguing team to keep an eye on next season.

Of course, new additions will be made; every team makes them. And Norwich fans will trust the Belgian boss to identify the best possible option to improve his squad.

But if the incomings are limited this summer, and the Canaries go ahead with their current crop of players, there still may not be much stopping them from making a run at promotion next season anyway.