Ben Knapper sparks ‘brave’ debate after Norwich City sell Marcelino Nunez to Ipswich Town

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EFL experts have reacted to Marcelino Nunez moving from Norwich City to Ipswich Town this summer, with Ben Knapper signing off on the deal.

Both Norwich City and Ipswich Town will be eyeing promotion to the Premier League this season, but added needle to their games will surround the fact Nunez made the controversial switch between Norwich and Ipswich.

Nunez joining Ipswich was the unthinkable, but it has come to fruition. He became the first player to move from Norwich to Ipswich since goalkeeper Andy Marshall in 2001. Nunez has agreed a four-year contract.

Pelle Mattsson has replaced Nunez for Norwich but many Norwich fans are questioning the decision from Liam Manning and Ben Knapper. It has caused a serious stir in East Anglia.

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EFL expert George Elek reacts to Marcelino Nunez joining Ipswich Town from Norwich City

Aaron McClean, a former Ipswich striker, believed it was crucial for Norwich to retain Sargent. They did, but their big-money sale was Nunez.

Ali Maxwell has reacted to the situation, he said: “At the moment, I mean, he just looks incredible. It’s five goals in four league games. It’s six in five in all competitions. And, to me, it would seem obvious that someone would be trying to sign Josh Sargent.

“I do wonder how much interest there is. I’ve seen a few rumours here and there. Sunderland had a look [at Sargent] and have turned to someone else, for example, was one that I saw this morning.

“For Norwich, having sold Marcelino Nunez to Ipswich Town, someone crossing that divide, that Suffolk-Norfolk border for the first time in — I don’t know how long — a long time. Was it 24 years? Quite a big deal for those Norwich fans.

“And I think, you know, it seems simple, but getting this win would have been a nice little tonic for what was quite a tough time for them. What did you make of that move?”

Elek: “Very, very brave from Ben Knapper, I would say. And I’m sure he would probably say, ‘Look, if you guys want to keep Josh Sargent, then this is probably what we got to do.’

“But I find it hard to believe they would never been able to get at least a fee close to that number from someone other than Ipswich given Nunez’s quality. Brave also because you know he’s been praised at times and criticised at times in a pretty short period of time at Norwich.

“Knapper, as their sporting director, he’s done this at a moment where I think fans are looking at their signings they’re quite excited about over the summer and wondering if they’re actually any good, particularly defensively.

“But it’s his job to make these decisions and and, you know, there is a business case we made of course for selling players at a level in order to reinvest.

“There are Norwich fans who I think, rightly or understandably, would believe that the club should never do business with Ipswich, especially when they’re in the same league.

“And by improving Ipswich’s team and weakening their team, they’re having genuinely negative impacts on their chances of success and a positive one on Ipswich’s. But yeah, it’s I’d say brave is the is the key word here.”

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Ali Maxwell on Marcelino Nunez’s profile for Ipswich Town

Maxwell added: “Nunez is an interesting one because I’ve been enjoying saying his name from the moment he came to these shores. And, because in Marcelino Nunez, in general Championship sides signing young Chilean midfielders is just what I want to see.

“Yeah. I do think that if I really analyse the player, I’m not sure he’s an incredible Championship player. I don’t think necessarily that losing him leaves a massive hole for Norwich that they wouldn’t be that they can’t possibly plug.

“Particularly in comparison with Sargent, right? He’s a a good player. You know, last season his first season a season of adaptation, 2,000 minutes, did pretty well. Norwich were not a great team.

“[They] came 13th. Then they finished in the play-offs under David Wagner. Again, 2,200 minutes, 25 starts, [but he] was very much in the shadow of Gabby Sara, who sparkled.

“And then, after Sara’s departure, you were kind of hoping that Nunez — after two full seasons — was going to be able to recreate exactly what Sara had done. And it didn’t quite happen.

“And they were playing under a different manager and a different style. But again, 27 starts, 2,200 minutes — did get 10 goal contributions, six goals, and four assists. Direct free-kicks are something that he’s quite a big fan of — an eye for the spectacular and a long shot.

“And those numbers were better, but I still don’t think they got very close to recreating what Sara was doing. So, I think, removing all emotion, it’s a fair sale. I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world, but you can’t really remove all emotion.

“That’s kind of the whole point of football. I think that’s the thing about Nunez is that you might expect that he’s a next level technician, but he’s actually like he’s a bit of a a midfield dog.

“Like he runs hard and he runs a lot and his physical attributes are very impressive and it’s actually on the ball where he’s kind of a high volume guy but he’s he’s not unbelievable shall we say technically.”