"One of the best" - Norwich City claim made for £15,000-a-week star - Canaries exit fear revealed | OneFootball

FLW's Norwich City fan pundit has been speaking on Marcelino Nunez' season so far, and discussed the potential for a summer transfer exit.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Norwich City midfielder Marcelino Nunez has endured a considerable amount of time out of Johannes Hoff Thorup's starting XI in recent weeks, which is a surprising sight to see given the quality he possesses at Championship level.

The 25-year-old central midfielder has been standing out in the second tier since signing with the Canaries in the summer of 2022.

A key contributor in both the attacking and defensive phases of the game, the Chilean international has proven himself to be a classy performer at Championship level, and has, for the most part, held down a starting role during his time at Carrow Road.

However, the 2-1 defeat to Burnley on 11 April was his fourth appearance on the substitute's bench in the last eight Championship games, in what has been an up and down spell for the £15,000-a-week midfielder (per Capology).

"It's clear how much talent he's got" - Claim made on Marcelino Nunez' Norwich City season

We asked our Norwich City fan pundit, Zeke Downes: 'Have you been underwhelmed with Marcelino Nunez this season as a Norwich player? He's been in and out of the starting XI during the last few months, when he surely has the talent to be one of the best midfielders in the division?'

Downes said: "When he's been playing, I haven't been disappointed at all.

"It's clear how much talent he's got, and he is definitely one of the best midfielders in the league. But the issue is, we've had a lot of injuries, including himself; he's had two or three injuries himself.

"That's meant he's been out of the team a lot and been rested, and he's not really been able to get a good run of games under his belt. Also, the fact that the other midfielders change every week pretty much, and we use (Kenny) McLean, (Jacob) Sorensen, (Jacob) Wright, (Anis) Slimane, (Emiliano) Marcondes, (Oscar) Schwartau or even (Amankwah) Forson.

"It's never a set three in midfield, and that's meant that we've struggled, especially in midfield. You need that partnership, and you need players to get used to each other.

"Last season, when it was McLean, Nunez and (Gabriel) Sara pretty much every week, that was when the midfield was ticking nicely."

"Build around him" - Norwich City told to make Nunez essential part of Canaries' future

The 2025/26 season is set to be Nunez' final 12 months under contract as a Norwich City player, leading to questions naturally beginning to arise over his long-term Carrow Road future.

Given the nature of his rotational role in recent weeks, could the Chilean feel as though he needs to depart the club in order to secure a larger role elsewhere this summer?

"So, it's a shame because we all know how good Nunez is," Downes continued.

"I really don't want him to leave. He's one that I would really want to keep, and almost build a team around him.

"He's still a really good age, and he's got a lot of talent, and I don't think we could get someone of his quality for the amount that we paid for him (around £3m)."