Norwich City: Liam Gibbs analysis after new contract

The list of names unceremoniously moved on is a long and varied one. Rocky Bushiri, Melvin Sitti, William Hondermarck, Pierre Fonkeu, Tristan Abrahams, Rob Nizet and Bali Mumba are all players signed and moved on before they could make a significant mark on the Canaries' first team.

After a steady production line of young talent had started to dry up - only Andrew Omobamidele is inspiring the sort of hype that once surrounded Todd Cantwell, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons - that was becoming a worrying trend.

While Stuart Webber's senior signing record was being criticised vehemently on the surface, the lack of emerging academy talent was a thread running quietly underneath.

A facet of the club's model that had thrived in the early years of Webber's time as sporting director had begun to look average, and although in 2021 results looked good at first-team level, signs of who the club's next stars could be were minimal.

But City's attempts to stock that academy with the best young talent available continued, and in that summer Liam Gibbs was recruited from Ipswich Town.

For fans, the main use of the signing may have been for bragging rights over their local rivals, but those in charge at Colney saw the signs of a talent that could become a key player for them.

His initial assignment to the under-23s showed that Norwich understood there was still work to do, despite the then-18-year-old having made four senior appearances over the Suffolk border.

But Gibbs impressed with the club's development side, enough to earn him recognition from Dean Smith when he oversaw proceedings at the Lotus Training Centre.

He played a key role in Smith's pre-season of 2022, setting the wheels in motion for a breakthrough season and recognition as City's young player of the campaign - a mark of his achievement even in a very poor 2022-23.

What will work in his favour long-term, however, is his suitability for new head coach David Wagner's system.

Gibbs suits David Wagner's system well. (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

As much was clear when he charged through on the counter to open the scoring away at Blackburn Rovers. That strike was the first of Gibbs' senior career and Wagner will hope there's more where it came from.

His drive from midfield is exactly what the German is looking for as he plots an alternative route to Championship success for his crop - a route with plenty of space in behind.

Gibbs' time in a '10' role at Ipswich is more easily explained when watching him under Wagner than Smith, who deployed him in a deeper role where he also excelled.

But in the former's system he'll be required to fulfil both functions, with the demands extreme on a double pivot in a 4-4-2. Those in charge of offering new contracts clearly believe he's capable of that, and the early signs have done too.

But with only 41 competitive games under his belt and a starting berth still far from nailed on, there's plenty for the 20-year-old to prove.

The shift in squad number from 46 to eight this summer signifies his status shift from academy starlet to bonafide first teamer, and that's the main goal of these academy transfers.

At the fees involved, Gibbs justifies a number of the players Norwich have signed to bolster their youth ranks, and will continue to do so if he fulfils his considerable potential.

At a time when City's finances are tight and complex, a reliable player like Gibbs at the fee he cost them is a significant relief.

Now the task is to continue to deliver, and he'll be keen to become a frontline option in an improved promotion push.