Norwich City’s most expensive signings of all time as Mathias Kvistgaarden deal looms

Add as preferred source on Google

Liam Manning may be getting the full backing of the Carrow Road hierarchy this summer, but will any of his transfers become one of Norwich City’s most expensive signings of all time?

The new Norwich City manager has already bagged new recruits like Jacob Wright, Jakov Medic, and Harry Darling, but none of those exactly broke the bank.

Just this week, we revealed Mathias Kvistgaarden was undergoing his medical to become a new Norwich player. That deal was initially thought to be worth around £12m, which would have seen him top the pile here.

However, Ben Knapper has negotiated a £6.9m fee instead, meaning the Danish striker will not become one of Norwich City’s most expensive signings. So, here’s the top five so far.

• READ MORE: Liam Manning has one clear Norwich City ambition, he’s got to stop three years of frustration

The top five most expensive signings in Norwich City history

5. Timm Klose – £8.5m

January 2016 was a busy and rather expensive time for Norwich City, with not one, but two bumper signings during that transfer window.

The Canaries were battling relegation in the Premier League (a battle they ultimately lost, finishing 19th in 2015/16), and the signing of Timm Klose from Werder Bremen in a reported £8.5m deal (as per the Daily Mail) was a real signal of intent from Norwich.

The big Swiss defender went on to make 128 appearances for the Canaries over the course of his five years in Norfolk, and ended up being worth the big transfer fee.

4. Ante Crnac – £8.5m

One member of the current Norwich City squad who makes this list is Ante Crnac. The Croatian starlet arrived at Carrow Road last summer in a deal worth a reported £8.5m (as per the Pink’Un).

He played a bit-part role last season, with Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz overshadowing the 21-year-old, but he still managed to bag seven goals. There is a belief that Crnac could be much more important in 2025/26 if and when Sargent and Sainz move on, and there’s no denying he has a high ceiling.

3. Milot Rashica – £9.4m

The summer of 2021 was also an expensive window for Norwich, with Milot Rashica arriving from Werder Bremen for a fee believed to be in the region of £9.4m (as per Sky Sports). Rashica was brought in to replace Emi Buendia, who became Norwich’s most expensive sale of all time when he joined Aston Villa in a £40m deal.

Again, it wasn’t enough, though. Norwich suffered relegation after finishing rock bottom in the Premier League in 2021/22, with Rashica registering just two goals and three assists before joining Galatasaray the following summer.

• READ MORE: How James Maddison singlehandedly saved Norwich City from ‘disaster’ in 2018 with crucial decision

2. Steven Naismith – £9.5m

Just pipping Rashica to second spot in the list of Norwich City’s most expensive signings is Steven Naismith. The deal to bring the Scotsman to Carrow Road cost an initial £8.5m (as per the BBC) but there was another £1m added on.

Naismith played 48 times for the Canaries, bagging eight goals and four assists. He would later move back to his native Scotland to join Hearts.

1. Christos Tzolis – £10m

We said the summer of 2021 was an expensive one for Norwich, but Milot Rashica wasn’t even the costliest signing. Christos Tzolis takes the top spot in our list, coming in at a cool £10m when he arrived from PAOK (according to Sky Sports).

Despite arriving with high hopes, Tzolis managed just three goals and two assists in 30 games. After relegation from the top flight, the Greek winger headed off to FC Twente on loan before another temporary spell at Fortuna Dusseldorf led to a permanent switch.

It would be fair to say that Tzolis was did not justify the £10m Norwich spent on him.