Pundit Carlton Palmer has criticised Norwich City’s decision to sack David Wagner amid reports that FC Nordsjaelland manager Johannes Hoff Thorup is set to take over at Carrow Road.
Despite being under pressure from supporters for much of the season, Wagner led the Canaries to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship, but he was dismissed earlier this month following the 4-0 defeat at Leeds United in the play-off semi-final second leg.
A host of names have been linked with the Norwich job in recent weeks, including Will Still, Pascal Jansen and Steve Cooper, but it now seems that Thorup is the club’s first choice target.
According to BBC Radio Norfolk, the Canaries are hoping to appoint Thorup as their new manager by the end of the week, while Danish outlet Tipsbladet claim that a deal has been agreed between the two clubs for the 35-year-old.
Thorup has been in charge of Nordsjaelland since January 2023, and he led them to a fourth-placed finish in the Danish Superliga this season, but they were unable to secure European football.
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer said that while it remains to be seen how Thorup will adapt to the Championship, it was a harsh decision for Norwich to sack Wagner after he led them to the play-offs.
“Reports coming out of Norwich City are that they are to appoint Johannes Hoff Thorup as David Wagner’s replacement,” Palmer said.
“I find this really, really hard to explain that a manager gets you to the play-offs and loses his job.
“I thought David Wagner did a really, really good job at Norwich.
“Reports are coming out from Norwich that he was never going to stay on whether they got promoted or not, which signals there must be some problems behind the scenes.
“He was promoted from the rank of assistant coach in January 2023 to the top job, and in his first full season in charge he took them to the group stages of European competition and achieved a fourth-placed finish in the Danish Superliga table.
“We’ll have to see how he fares in the Championship next season.
“As I said, I thought it was very harsh on David Wagner being removed from his job, but the reports coming out from Norwich are that he was going to be relieved of his duties come what may, even if they got promoted.”
