Opinion: Norwich City should target Manchester United man should Todd Cantwell leave this month | OneFootball

Norwich City returned to winning ways in the Championship as they beat Preston North End 4-0 on Saturday.

The game was David Wagner’s first game in charge of the Canaries in the Championship, with his first game coming in their FA Cup third round defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

Wagner’s side managed to get control of the game early on, and thanks to a double from Teemu Puki and Kieran Dowell, the Canaries got a win in his first game in charge in the Championship.

This is a huge positive for Wagner considering their defeat before it and the ongoing transfer speculation regarding Todd Cantwell.

It’s been reported that Cantwell is attracting interest from Scottish Premiership side Rangers, with a bid expected to be on its way.

However, the Scottish Premiership side now face stiff competition as Eredivisie giants PSV are set to join the race and rival Rangers in making a bid for the Norwich midfielder. The report states that PSV manager is looking for a player to replace Cody Gakpo and has identified Cantwell as a potential option.

Therefore, Wagner may have to go into the transfer market if Cantwell were to depart Carrow Road this month. It’s unclear what funds are available to Wagner, if any, but the Canaries boss will surely want to add to his new squad as they look to get back into the play off mix.

One player that Norwich could turn to as a potential replacement is Manchester United midfielder Zidane Iqbal.

Iqbal is a young midfielder, who has a big reputation at the Premier League club and is someone that could easily fill the void left by Cantwell. It was reported exclusively by Football League World in November that Michael Carrick was looking to bring the midfielder to Middlesbrough this January however, as of yet nothing has materialised and with Boro’s upturn in results that may not be the case now.

So, there could potentially be competition for Iqbal, but he is someone Wagner should be pushing the club to sign. Iqbal would be a player that could slot into their midfield and fill the void potentially left by Cantwell as he would bring control, composure, and that talent that United’s youngsters seem to possess.

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Chris Martin

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The 19-year-old has only made one appearance in the United first team, but he has featured heavily in the youth set-up and the EFL Trophy. Despite still being young and raw, Iqbal has a bright future ahead of him and is highly regarded at United. So, the next step in the youngster’s development may be a loan spell somewhere.

Erik ten Hag has just given Kobbie Mainoo his Man United debut, and with him impressing in the EFL Cup game against Charlton Athletic and other midfielders such as Charlie Savage on the books in the academy, the Red Devils may see a loan move as the next step for Iqbal.

United are a team that is well possessed in the midfield, and while Iqbal is held in high regard at the club, the midfielder will want to play more football on a regular basis, and therefore, if a side like Norwich did make a move for him, then there could be a deal to be done.

Iqbal can play anywhere in the midfield department, and for United’s under-23s, he has shown he can play as a number six, eight, or number 10. Similar positions to that what Cantwell has played at Carrow Road and with finances being a bit tight at the club it seems sensible that the club went down a loan move like this and then re-assessed again in the summer.