EXCLUSIVE: City chief Knapper reveals approach to contract minefield.

Ben Knapper will look deeper than just performance levels as Norwich City weigh up the futures of their out-of-contract players.

The Canaries’ sports director oversees the squad-building process and has began talks with representatives of individuals with expiring contracts as the clock ticks on their Carrow Road futures. City have five first-team options out of contract this summer, including first-choice custodian Angus Gunn, outstanding midfielder Emi Marcondes, long-serving winger Onel Hernandez and versatile Dane Jacob Sorensen. Marcondes and Gunn have been two frontline alternatives for Johannes Hoff Thorup this season, with the Scottish international yet to receive a formal offer to prolong his stay at the club.

City does have the option to extend Marcondes’ current contract by another year, and he told the Pink Un in January that he intended to continue in Norfolk after coming on a free transfer last October. Hernandez and Sorensen have been on the fringe of the squad this season, but they have had an impression at various points. City has worked relentlessly over the last two windows to churn the team and reduce its age profile. More changes are expected this summer as they continue to construct the squad in accordance with their overall strategy.

It will be up to Knapper and head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup to make choices on those players in the coming months, and City’s football manager highlighted why negotiating the labyrinth of contract extensions goes beyond Championship results on the pitch. “The situation remains the same in terms of ongoing conversations that have yet to be finalised. “Things will continue in the coming weeks,” Knapper informed the Pink Un. “There are numerous factors that influence their decisions. The players’ performance is one part, but there are also bigger issues at play, such as our overall squad planning, budgetary concerns, player demands, and the opportunity cost of having one player here vs another.

Ben Knapper (right) will make the final choice on Norwich City’s out-of-contract squad. (Image by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd.) “All of that goes into the mix. Finally, it’s about attempting to find common ground among all parties, which isn’t always easy. It is extremely sophisticated. There are several discussions, both inside and between parties. “In the meantime, we’re really fortunate here that we’ve got a really good dressing room, and despite those conversations being ongoing, the players are all super focused on what they’re doing, committed to their work day to day and focused on trying to get ourselves in that top-six picture.”

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