Abu Kamara's desire to leave Norwich City is nothing new for Johannes Hoff Thorup, but he was hoping to avoid a transfer request from the 21-year-old.

Kamara made his wish for a move away from Carrow Road official earlier this week, having expressed a preference for a new challenge after returning from a season-long loan with Portsmouth earlier this summer.

Head coach Thorup says those conversations meant the request did little to change things, but that he was slightly shocked by the seriousness of the winger's actions.

"We've had a lot of talks with Abu, and he's been talking to us openly about the situation," the Dane admitted at his pre-Sheffield United press call. "It is a little bit difficult for him at the club at the moment, and I think he was disappointed that he didn't start the first one at Oxford or against Blackburn.

"Sometimes for young players it's how to deal with these disappointments, because there will be some now and in the future for him and more or less every player.

"Of course I was a little surprised that there was a transfer request, but that's sometimes how it is. You can't always affect the guys that are supporting him.

"Hopefully we can get him in a place where this can be valuable learning for him and he can take a step in the right direction for us. But also of course we have to understand that if he doesn't want to be here, then we can be open to that as well.

"It's the same as with Adam (Idah) and with Jonny (Rowe): we cannot give any players away for free, so if we decide that the offer is not good enough, then there will be no deal."

The Lambeth native is still in contention for City's matchday squad this weekend despite his decision, having trained all week with the rest of his team-mates.

"I don't think it's the right decision to hand in a transfer request, I think we can find a better solution than that," Thorup continued. "But he's also young and still learning, and sometimes emotions can take over.

"He's been open about how he feels, which is so much easier for us to respond to, so we know what we have to deal with here.

"He will be available, because he's been training with us and there's been nothing regarding that. He's been in all week, and he's been a part of the team all week."