Norwich City will have regret over what’s happening at Bristol City right now | OneFootball

Bristol City forward Anis Mehmeti spent time in the Norwich City academy before his release

Anis Mehmeti has become Bristol City's star forward in the EFL Championship, but if things had gone slightly differently, he could be tearing up the second tier in a Norwich City shirt instead.

Former Monaco and Rangers head coach Philippe Clement has come in to save Norwich City this campaign, after the Canaries' dismal start to the season under Liam Manning became apparent, and drastic action needed to be taken.

Manning had joined Norwich in the summer as head coach, having guided Bristol City to 6th place in the Championship last season, their first play-off finish in 17 years, and was duly appointed to the top job at Carrow Road.

However, after 17 games in charge with Norwich languishing in the relegation places, Manning was dismissed, and since then, the Canaries have appointed Belgian boss Clement to take the reins.

Their form has seen a slight upturn since his arrival, yet they still occupy a place in the bottom three, but if they can keep their recent form up, they won't be remaining there for much longer.

The Canaries have been marred by injury woes for much of this campaign, with the likes of Ante Crnac, Forson Amankwah, Jeffrey Schlupp, and Pape Diallo all spending time out of action in the attacking areas.

It would therefore be safe to suggest that if Norwich had kept an academy star who is now tearing up the second tier, they may well be in a better position.

Anis Mehmeti spent time in the Norwich City academy without making a first-team appearance for the Canaries

Indeed, Anis Mehmeti, who is tearing up the second tier with Bristol City at the moment, began his footballing career in the academy of Norwich.

The winger had spells with both Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur at youth level, but spent the bulk of his youth career in Norfolk, though he would never make a senior appearance for the club and would leave to join non-league outfit Woodford Town in 2019.

A fully-fledged Albanian international, Mehmeti joined Wycombe Wanderers in 2020, linking up initially with the B team, but quickly progressed through to the first-team and made his debut in October 2020.

Mehmeti made 29 Championship appearances in his first season of professional football, scoring three and assisting one as Wycombe were relegated, but he would remain a regular for the Chairboys in the third tier for the next couple of seasons.

The winger made 97 appearances for Wycombe in total, scoring 19 and assisting nine before securing a £1 million move back to the Championship with Bristol City in January 2023, where he has been an almost ever-present in the side since.

Mehmeti has already made over 125 appearances for the Robins in all competitions, and has taken his game to the next level this season, starting in every single Championship match thus far, grabbing six goals and six assists under Austrian boss Gerhard Struber.

Norwich fans never even caught a glimpse of Mehmeti, yet they are left to wonder at what might have been had they done more to keep him at the club all those years ago.

Philippe Clement could do with a player like Anis Mehmeti at Norwich City right now

Of course, Norwich could not have foreseen the career trajectory that Mehmeti would go on, with him being just one of hundreds of players coming through the academy during that period.

However, it only takes one player to go on and do well for a club to regret their decision, and in this instance Mehmeti is that player.

With the aforementioned Crnac, Amankwah, Schlupp, and Diallo all spending time out, and USMNT forward Josh Sargent having missed the last two games due to a concussion precaution, Clement and Norwich could really do with someone like Mehmeti now.

The Canaries' attacking options have been drastically limited due to their injury woes, and some will be watching on at the Albanian winger taking games by the scruff of the neck at Ashton Gate and wondering what could have been.