Chris Sutton makes bleak Norwich City claim ahead of January transfer window | OneFootball

Norwich City's lure has been doubted by Chris Sutton

Former Norwich City striker Chris Sutton has questioned the Canaries’ ability to attract players in the January transfer window.

The Norfolk outfit have endured a torrid time throughout the 2025/26 campaign, winning just two of their first 17 matches to lie 23rd in the table at this moment in time. There is a six-point gap to safety that Norwich will have to overcome, which is more than they have managed to score in their last 13 outings.

Despite just being appointed during the summer, Liam Manning was relieved of his managerial duties during the November international break, with former Rangers and Monaco boss Philippe Clement named as the man to lead them forward.

This led to much excitement from the fanbase, who hoped that the Belgian’s top-flight expertise could get them out of their current mess. However, a 4-1 defeat against Birmingham City and a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Oxford United haven’t made for a remarkable start.

Chris Sutton doubts Norwich City’s ability to attract players

The January transfer market is often make or break for a lot of clubs, as it can determine whether they achieve promotion, finish in the play-offs or remain in the division.

With Clement no doubt looking to put his own stamp on the Canaries’ squad, this adds even more value to how well Norwich performs in the winter window, especially given their current placement in the relegation zone.

However, one of their former stars has thrown doubt over whether the Norfolk outfit will be able to attract the required standard of player when the time comes.

When writing in his column for the Pinkun after Norwich’s draw with Oxford United, ex-Canaries striker Chris Sutton revealed that he seriously questions whether the club will be able to convince players that a move to Carrow Road is worthwhile.

“Nobody can overstate the importance of the upcoming transfer window,” stated Sutton. “Which has to form part of the recovery mission being led by Clement, but cannot be seen as a silver bullet solution.

“If that gap to safety increases further, who is going to want to come to Norwich City? It will involve them paying over the odds on fees and wages or signing players from leagues that require adaptation.

“In the summer, it's easy to sell a dream to players. Norwich have good training facilities, an excellent fanbase and Norfolk is a beautiful place to live. There is no hiding place in January.

“I’m afraid it's difficult to sell a vision to players when you're bang in trouble at the bottom, and players are thinking, 'well, there's a strong chance I'll be in League One next season'.”

Chris Sutton’s Norwich City fears could lead to panic buys in January

As Sutton mentioned, it will be hard for Norwich City to convince players of a high standard to join them in January, due to the fact that they are fighting towards the bottom of the Championship.

Even though short-term contracts could be organised or clauses that allow signings to leave on a cut-price if the Canaries do suffer relegation, top talents aren’t likely to agree to deals such as that and will instead try to move to a more secure club.

Therefore, Norwich will be limited by who they bring in, which means they could have to take a gamble, which also isn’t acceptable in a relegation battle, or pay operators much more than they are worth, in order to force through a move.

Although this could just keep them in the division, it could lead to even more serious trouble if they do drop down to the third-tier, as their income would be reduced and could prevent an immediate fight back to the Championship.