After being dumped out of the Championship play-offs in ruthless fashion by Leeds United, Norwich City made the decision to sack David Wagner, potentially opening the door to a Premier League coach.
Norwich manager news
The Canaries' decision is as brutal as it gets after Wagner guided them into the play-offs, only to suffer a 4-0 thrashing against Wembley-bound Leeds. Releasing a statement on the decision, Sporting director Ben Knapper said: “David has operated with class and dignity throughout his period as Norwich City head coach, but we now feel that the time is right for us to move in a different direction.
“We remain committed to progressing our football club, in both the short and long-term, working through a diligent and thorough strategy. The appointment of a new head coach is an important one. We will now work and continue our due diligence with the view of making an appointment in the near future.”
Now, according to reports on Friday, Norwich are eyeing a move to sign Carlos Cuesta, who is Mikel Arteta's current assistant at Arsenal. If the Canaries get their way, then the 28-year-old will make his way to Carrow Road after this Sunday's Premier League finale, which could yet end with Premier League glory in the perfect way for Cuesta to bow out.
4/10 Norwich performer must have played his last game for the club
The Canaries defender is out of contract later this summer and struggled badly against Leeds.
ByDan Emery
Cuesta would instantly become the youngest manager by some distance in the Championship, given that the current holder of that position is 34-year-old Tom Cleverley at Watford. That said, the Arsenal man reportedly fits the new progressive approach that Norwich are attempting to implement.
Cuesta is a risk that Norwich should take
At a crossroads, Norwich are in a position to take a risk this summer and that risk should be appointing Cuesta. The Arsenal coach may be inexperienced, but he's certainly rated enough at The Emirates, hence his role. In the long-term, welcoming such a young manager can pay dividends too, especially if they manage to build a successful project.
Arteta previously spoke about the prospect of his assistant stepping into such a role, welcoming the idea after making the same step himself, from Manchester City to Arsenal.
The Spaniard said via The Metro: "People don’t want to do the same thing for three, four, five years you know, and there is a way to incentivise people, to inspire other people, and then to explore.
"Because you don’t really know the limit of a person unless you expose him to certain things. I think curiosity is a really important quality that we have within our young staff, and that thrives.
"We all need opportunities. I got an opportunity when I didn’t have any experience in coaching, first of all at Man City and then here, and I’m very grateful for that."