How Norwich City could look if Russell Martin is appointed – 4 changes are likely | OneFootball

Former Norwich City defender Russell Martin is being linked with a return to Carrow Road and that could lead to a few changes for the Canaries.

Norwich City parted company with manager Johannes Hoff Thorup earlier this week as the Canaries sit firmly in the middle-of-the-table in the Championship with former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere placed in interim charge until the end of the 2024/25 season.

There have been plenty of managers tipped up to replace Thorup at Carrow Road but one of the interesting contenders for the job could be former Norwich captain and defender Russell Martin, with many Canaries supporters on social media urging the club to move for him.

Known for his almost extreme to verging on ridiculous style of football, Martin has a reputation that needs rebuilding as a coach following the disastrous few months managing Southampton in the Premier League this season, having guided Saints to promotion via the play-offs last season.

A reunion in Norfolk could well be on the cards this summer and it would lead to a few changes at Carrow Road as supporters seek to get behind a project that can once again deliver them Premier League football.

Russell Martin’s extreme style of football

Russell Martin is, as mentioned, known for an extreme and sophisticated style of football that he has deployed across his managerial career with Milton Keynes Dons, Swansea City and Southampton.

Imposing a philosophy that sees his players often dominating the passing statistics across the league, it can often leave them very exposed defensively and that was even the case when Saints gained promotion a couple of years ago, conceding 63 goals in 46 games.

In that regard, in terms of being defensively lapse, there are some similarities between Martin and Thorup given that the Canaries have conceded 66 goals in 44 Championship matches this season and only four teams have conceded more than that.

However, unlike Thorup, Martin’s style of football, for all of its flaws, does generally appear to have more of a clearer and unwavering identity to it, perhaps shown by his dedication to a specific system; that being the back three.

Whether he has the personnel available for it or even in the squad at all, Martin is dedicated to a back three and only in extreme circumstances has that shifted such as in the first-half of the 2023/24 campaign at St Mary’s on occasion.

That represents another likely change, as well as the extreme style, for Norwich supporters to get to grips with as Thorup as well as David Wagner and Daniel Farke before him have played a 4-2-3-1 system almost exclusively since 2017.

Borja Sainz and a recruitment drive

Another change that will majorly affect things this summer for Martin and the club is potentially not one within Martin’s hands and that is the future of attacking midfielder Borja Sainz.

The former Giresunspor winger joined Norwich in the summer of 2023 and put in an excellent first-half to this season but has since perhaps faded following rumours of a move to Athletic Club, as a Basque attacker, in the winter transfer window.

Either way, Borja Sainz’ individual quality and intuition on the ball has been something that did make him stand out with impressive technical and off the cuff qualities but that is perhaps not something required in a Martin setup whereby the process is the be all and end all.

That doesn’t mean that the process doesn’t work better with a higher level of quality but the need for something to be created or done from nothing is not there as much and that may limit Borja Sainz’ impact, regardless of whether or not he stays put.

That leads onto another thing that will shift at Carrow Road and that is in recruitment because, it seems from his time at Southampton and Swansea, that when Martin gets a say in recruitment to sign for his specific style and system, he will tend to lean towards English players – or at least that was the case with Saints last year as they brought in Taylor Harwood-Bellis on a permant deal as well as Adam Lallana, Charlie Taylor, Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood, Flynn Downes and Cameron Archer.

Now, some of Norwich’s most successful pieces of recruitment in recent years have come from overseas such as the likes of the aforementioned Borja Sainz as well as Emi Buendia and Gabriel Sara.

In fact, there are fewer than ten English players to have made a Championship appearance for the club this season.

So the way in which the Canaries conduct their business and the profile of player they seek could well be shifting, too, if Martin returns to Carrow Road.