Liam Manning suggests Norwich City forgotten man should ‘pursue alternative options’

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Norwich City are heading into the 2025/26 Championship campaign as favourites for a top-six finish following their impressive summer business.

The Canaries recently announced their ninth summer signing when Norwich signed Mirko Topic from Portuguese outfit Famalicao in a £3m deal.

This demonstrates the backing Liam Manning has been given since his appointment as manager at Carrow Road, as the club look to earn promotion to the Premier League after their relegation in 2022 from the division under Dean Smith.

The addition of nine players into the team will mean that several players will have to leave the squad to receive playing time, and Liam Manning has admitted there is one who may have to ‘move on’.

• READ MORE: Forgotten player ready for fresh start at Norwich City to bring ‘devastating’ period to an end

Shane Duffy may have to ‘move on’ to get regular playing time

The experienced Republic of Ireland international Shane Duffy was left out of the matchday squad that won 2-0 against NAC Breda.

Liam Manning explained to Eastern Daily Press that he is a fan of Duffy for his work rate and attitude despite him seemingly not being part of his plans for the season.

It is believed that Duffy is one of the top earners at Norwich, with the defender believed to be earning £1.82m per year.

This may be a reason Manning is keen to move Duffy on, despite not mentioning that when asked about the future of the Irishman.

He said: “We’ve had discussions with them. Shane, I can’t speak highly enough of his attitude, how he’s worked in training and the voice he’s had.

“We’ve obviously got a bigger squad. We’ve got too many bodies for a matchday squad. We had too many on the bench. I think it’s important we’ve got the competition. But I think when you look at it, I’m sure in the coming weeks there might be one or two that move on.

“Everybody wants to play football. If that’s not happening here or not likely here, then I’m sure people will want to pursue alternative options.”

The future of Shane Duffy

Duffy is in the final year of his contract, and with it being believed he is on £35k, it is hard to see Norwich being able to move the centre back on unless he takes a pay cut to move to another Championship-level team.

While Duffy may take into consideration the possibility of playing in the 2026 World Cup in North America, with Ireland being among the hopefuls to qualify, he has not featured under new Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, his last appearance coming 14 months ago against Hungary.

The options are limited for Shane Duffy, who will no doubt want to play for Norwich this season; with the 33-year-old coming to the end of his career, it may be tough for Manning to move him on, especially if his comments about his work rate in training are true.