Norwich City analysis: Jacob Sorensen could be midfield solution

In a way, it was no surprise that Tettey came up at City’s fan forum event with BBC Radio Norfolk on Monday. He was part of three Championship promotions and the club’s highest Premier League finish in 30 years.

There are plenty of players who have achieved great things in yellow and green, however, and it’s not that alone keeping the Norwegian so forefront in the conversation.

The reason behind that comes in his lack of an heir – the gaping hole he’s left in central midfield. It was temporarily filled by Oliver Skipp as an ageing Tettey saw out his final year in Norfolk, but subsequent attempts to replace him have fallen drastically short.

Alex Tettey was the last player to make the Canaries' defensive midfield role his own. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Mathias Normann was hamstrung by injuries and unreliable at best, with adventurous galavanting his forte instead of effective midfield screening. When he was absent Billy Gilmour crowbarred into that position, with the results of that experiment damaging to all parties.

Dean Smith's solution to the problem was Isaac Hayden's loan signing, but nine starts and another spate of injuries later he's departed with little fuss.

So City find themselves seeking answers to their long-standing problem once more, and it's no surprise supporters have turned their attentions to the transfer market. They were, after all, promised a summer of change, and there have been few signs that the replacement exists anywhere else.

Perhaps the reason why that replacement has yet to be forthcoming, however, is circumstance rather than absence.

The framing of that question was to allow David Wagner to elaborate on the role he saw Jacob Sorensen playing, and served as a necessary reminder that the Dane's favoured position is actually in midfield.

Not that anyone could be blamed for forgetting - his career as a central enforcer for Norwich has been significantly abbreviated by injuries to himself and others.

His role as an adaptable Polyfilla in the case of any injury crisis has seen to any consistency in that position, as well as a poorly-timed spell on the sidelines in the early stages of Dean Smith's tenure.

Sorensen has had to fill in for others throughout his time as a Norwich player. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Those performances - engineering a briefly functional Premier League midfield in a period of rare top flight relief for City fans - showed the levels Sorensen was capable of, as did another exciting period late last term.

In wins over Millwall and Blackburn Rovers his reading of the game and firefighting abilities helped the defence over the line, while his attacking capabilities were also on show.

Rarely has he had the opportunity to show it, but the  25-year-old's technical ability means he can contribute significantly to attacks, especially in Wagner's counter-attacking system.

His tidy finish got Norwich back into the game in South East London, and two perfectly executed passes set them on the counter in a crucial victory at Ewood Park.

The plans for Sorensen next campaign were confirmed by the German's answer. "I agree defensive midfield is his best position," he said. What that means for the club's transfer planning is as yet unclear, but he's undoubtedly part of the equation.

Players have already been signed in four different positions, and yet central midfield remains untouched. It could be that they trust Sorensen as the answer, but if they don't he'll be desperate to change that.

Three years into his time as a Canary he still takes residence under the radar, and it would suit both him and the Norfolk club rather well to change that.

As much focus as there's been on new arrivals, it's time for existing players to make the step up. Perhaps now's the perfect time for Sorensen to do just that.