Liam Manning teases full debut for £6.9m Norwich City ace vs Watford, he’s ‘pushing for a start’

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Norwich City travel to Watford on Tuesday evening in the Carabao Cup first round, as they look to put the disappointment of Saturday behind them.

Millwall picked up their first win at Carrow Road since 1968 at the weekend, as the Canaries were beaten 2-1 by their London visitors in a very disappointing start to the campaign.

Josh Sargent did get onto the scoresheet for the Norfolk outfit, but it was not enough to hand Liam Manning a point in his first game in charge of the side, with Macaulay Langstaff seemingly turning his Lions career around with a late winner.

Nevertheless, the cup offers Norwich a chance at getting back on track as they make their way to Vicarage Road to face Watford, and there could be a full debut for one of their summer signings.

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Liam Manning could hand Mathias Kvistgaarden his first Norwich City start vs Watford

Mathias Kvistgaarden earned rave reviews from supporters following his £6.9m move from Brondby earlier in the summer, and he came off the bench on Saturday for the final half an hour.

Despite not scoring, the Dane worked hard and Manning was quick to praise him ahead of the clash against Watford, hinting at whether he will start. The Norwich head coach said (via: Pink Un): “He brought real energy, real purpose with his running and he had a terrific chance. I was pleased with the impact he had. He’s definitely pushing for a start after the minutes at the weekend.

“That will do him the world of good getting minutes in his legs, and playing at Carrow Road. That could be another big, big, big positive for him. He’s moving in the right direction. We just have to make sure we keep him going that way.

“We need to get him in positions to bring his strengths. When you look at it, that’s his movement, his running depth and how he attacks crosses. We have to get him in areas of the pitch to do that, whether it be as the nine, or whether it be from slightly deeper.

“They are the bits we talk about when you look at building connections with other players, so they also understand what Mathias wants, and how he plays on the pitch.

“That was only the second or third game he had played, and it will take time to work out how we utilise him when the ball is wide or central. We have to give the other players that clarity, but it will also come from developing those relationships on the pitch.”

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Liam Manning needs to get a full reading on Mathias Kvistgaarden amid Josh Sargent uncertainty

Since he first arrived, many expected Kvistgaarden to be the replacement for Sargent, yet he remains at the club as one of nine American players in the Championship in 2025/26.

Burnley and Wolfsburg have already shown an interest in the striker so far this summer, but he remains at Norwich with less than three weeks left in the transfer window.

The Canaries are keen not to sell their star player, especially after Borja Sainz left for Porto, but if Kvistgaarden can prove himself then his departure may become a little easier to sanction.

Nonetheless, Manning needs to get a full understanding of what his new striker can do before any decision is taken on Sargent, with Norwich potentially on course to have one of the strongest starting attacks in the Championship.