Norwich City's transfer approach indicates busy Ben Knapper period looming in 2025 | OneFootball

Another relatively quiet January at Carrow Road could set in motion a busy summer window this year.

It's been a characteristically quiet January transfer window at Norwich City, but it sets up a summer window wrought with ins and outs.

Ben Knapper has been carefully treading his strategy this January. It's one defined by looking towards a long-term plan, with the senior, high-wage earners Ashley Barnes and Grant Hanley moving on, whilst exiting and young prospects Matej Jurasek and Lewis Dobbin coming in. Anis Ben Slimane's transfer was also made permanent, in a move that looked inevitable.

While it's more than the previous January window, in which Sydney van Hooijdonk linked up with the Canaries to no great avail, this window is certainly a far cry from the likes of Hull City or Sheffield United.

It's another carefully orchestrated transfer window, and one that could set up a major squad upheaval in the summer.

Norwich could lose some key players this summer

There's no question that Norwich will have some fending off to do come the end of the season.

Majority shareholder Mark Attanasio made clear that there was no immediate need to sell key players such as Borja Sainz in January, despite the Spaniard's links with Galatasaray earlier in the season. Clubs in La Liga are also keen on reuniting the winger with his homeland, Girona being the latest to register their interest.

Yet, most high-profile movements will always occur in the summer, which leaves questions over Sainz, and at least two others.

It was reported that Norwich rejected a £7 million bid for Marcelino Nunez from Premier League outfit Everton earlier in January. It cannot reasonably be seen as a serious bid, anyone who's watched Norwich this season knows it would take a far more generous offer to tempt them into letting him go.

The Nunez bid does, however, seem to be Everton testing the water. Whether they'll still be interested with David Moyes back in charge remains to be seen, but they're unlikely to be the only ones looking to bring in Nunez's services in the summer.

It's a similar story with Josh Sargent, coming back from a long spell on the sidelines, he's already proved he's worth his salt and has become a leading figure under Johannes Hoff Thorup.

In the past year, he's held interest within his native country, with both St Louis and and FC Cinncinati having kept him on their radar. But potentially even more tempting for the American international is the Premier League; Bournemouth considered a bid last summer. With centre-forwards in short supply these days, it's hard to imagine interest won't come in for Sargent.

Norwich were perhaps aided in keeping them in January due to all three of them being ruled out by either injury or suspension. With all three close to being on the pitch soon, it's certainly exciting for Canaries fans from a footballing perspective. But should they continue with their consistently high quality performances, there will no doubt be some anxiety over losing them as the season comes to a close.

In an ideal world, Knapper will want to keep all three, and Attanasio believes the club are now in a position where they do not have to sell their best players.

But ultimately, it's likely that at least one will go. With loanees Lewis Dobbin and Callum Doyle also returning to their parent clubs, there will be some noticeable gaps that need filling in the summer window.

Knapper will want additions in the summer

The word "transition" has been the key buzzword in the Norwich camp this season, and while it's a word that is almost redundant at this point, it's a key part of Knapper's plan.

He said around this time last year: "It will take multiple windows to shape the group in the way that I would like to."

That shape is slowly starting to take form, with last summer's additions beginning to stamp their mark on Carrow Road, while Matej Jurasek looks well in line with the strategy of building a squad made up of youthful assets.

One area that needs tightening up is the defense, having conceded an average of 1.45 goals per game and only achieving four clean sheets all season. With Shane Duffy reaching his twilight years, despite having a resurgence in performances, and Doyle's loan coming to an end, it would be no surprise to see some defensively minded transfers in the summer.

While the youth pipeline looks to be in better shape than it was last season, both Brad Hills and Lucien Mahovo could look to become key players in the future, the City chiefs may feel some assurance in defense is due.

Attacking wise, it may be more reactive depending on who leaves. But Knapper has proved more than capable of having deals waiting in the wings for when players make big money exits. Amankwah Forson was one who was brought in thanks to the sale of Gabriel Sara.

The Norwich higher-ups are not bound quite so much by tight finances as they were under Delia Smith, meaning selling key players is not a must. But while Attanasio's deeper pockets may help, Norwich have some pricey assets in their current squad and one of their sales would go a long way to implementing the kind of squad Knapper wants to see.

While the club's January window is another small step towards that squad, it's not quite the finished article just yet. The summer will take a huge leap towards a Knapper-and-Thorup-built Norwich side.