Key Norwich City dressing room figure addresses Jonathan Rowe withdrawal amid Leeds United transfer links
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Norwich City defender Jack Stacey will leave it for club chiefs to decide on the future of Jonathan Rowe after his late withdrawal from Saturday’s squad, with ongoing speculation over a possible move to Leeds United.
Rowe was unavailable for Norwich’s season-opener at newly-promoted Oxford United, a game they lost 2-0 in disappointing fashion, after holding last-minute discussions with the club. The 21-year-old had been sharp in pre-season and looked set to start the campaign with his current club, but spoke with head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup and was omitted just hours before kick-off at the Kassam Stadium.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSpeculation over Rowe’s future intensified over the weekend, with Fabrizio Romano claiming a formal offer had been submitted by French outfit Olympique de Marseille. They now look to be Leeds’ main rivals for the winger, with discussions ongoing after Elland Road chiefs floated a valuation around £7million - a number thought to be some way off Norwich’s price-tag.
"In football, you have to deal with everything from the outside," Stacey told The Pink Un of Rowe’s late absence. "I've always found myself focusing on the things that you can influence. I don't really know what happened with the situation. I just know that he was unavailable for the game today. As soon as that starting XI is announced, it is something that nobody is thinking about
"It's football. A little bit more so now because we've got players who are in demand but you can only take that as a positive thing, but when the transfer window is open then you never know what's going to happen. Speaking as a player, it's not something that I can affect at all. It's not something that we can affect at all, so we need to leave that to the people who can affect it. We hope by the end of the transfer window as strong a squad as we can."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt remains to be seen how Norwich will react to Rowe’s absence but an exit certainly looks more likely than it did a week ago. The winger is into the final year of his contract but local outlet The Pink Un has reported on a 12-month extension option that can be triggered by the club.
The Canaries face Stevenage in the Carabao Cup first round on Tuesday evening, and head coach Thorup is expected in front of the media beforehand for his pre-match press conference. There may be some more clarity on the matter with discussions between club and player pencilled in for some point today.
“Jon and I had a meeting this morning,” Thorup told Sky Sports after his side’s defeat. “He came to me and said with so many things going on and so much interest, he was maybe not ready to play, not ready to perform. I cannot go into too many conversations with Jonny on a day like this. We have to solve it on Monday when we are in again.”
Norwich do look to be planning for Rowe’s potential exit, however, with South London Press journalist Edmund Brack reporting on Sunday that they have made a late move for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who is also on Leeds’ radar. The summer transfer window closes in less than three weeks.