Norwich City: Major Jon Rowe transfer development shared amid Leeds United & Marseille interest | OneFootball

Marseille are expected to complete the signing of Jon Rowe from Norwich City in a deal that will eventually be worth £13.5m.

Highlights

Marseille are confident of winning the race to sign Jon Rowe from Norwich City, with the French giants proposing an initial loan with an obligation to buy for £13.5m next summer.

The winger enjoyed a real breakthrough year for the Canaries last season as they reached the play-offs, although they would ultimately lose convincingly to Leeds United.

Since then, there have been major doubts about Rowe’s future, with Leeds and Marseille known to be among the many admirers.

In a bid to force a move, Rowe stated he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play in the opening day defeat to Oxford, with talks ongoing in the background regarding his future.

And, it seems a deal is now close, as Telegraph reporter John Percy revealed that Marseille are expected to complete the signing of Rowe ahead of the deadline.

“Norwich City and Jonathan Rowe latest - Marseille submitted a third bid for Rowe over the weekend. Loan with an obligation to buy, total cost around £13.5m. Talks ongoing and there's now an expectation that a deal will be agreed before the window closes.”

Norwich City will want Jon Rowe saga to end

This has been a real distraction for the Canaries all summer, and you have real sympathy for Johannes Hoff Thorup, as he has had plenty of things going on during his first few months at Carrow Road.

From a football perspective, there’s no denying that Rowe will be a big miss.

He was a joy to watch last season, scoring 12 goals in 34 Championship games, whilst his pace and dribbling ability made him a constant threat for Norwich.

But, the reality is that he wants to move, and, in fairness, you can understand why. Marseille is a huge club, and they have invested heavily under Roberto De Zerbi this summer, so they are a club with big ambitions.

However, there are ways to behave, and many Norwich fans will be unhappy about how Rowe has gone about this.

The main thing is that a deal now appears close, and it’s a decent one for the Championship side.

In an ideal world they would have sold him straight away, but an obligation means the money is just essentially delayed, and whilst it might be a few million short of what they wanted, £13.5m is still a significant sum for a second tier outfit, so this works for all parties.

Norwich City’s summer transfer plans

With Adam Idah having joined Celtic in a deal worth up to £9.5m, and Gabriel Sara leaving for Galatasaray, Norwich should now be in a position to spend, and it has been claimed that they’re lining up a move for Croatian Ante Crnac.

Clearly, attacking reinforcements have to be the priority for Thorup and the recruitment team, as Rowe and Sara were influential figures for the side that reached the top six.

So, it could be a frantic end to the window, and it will be interesting to see what business is done.