Norwich City are on the verge of confirming David Wagner as their new head coach with the ex-Huddersfield Town manager being chosen to replace Dean Smith, according to journalist John Percy.

Allan Russell and Steve Weaver have taken caretaker charge of the Canaries' last two games, overseeing a draw against Reading and a loss against Watford, but Wagner is now set to take the reins in time for their FA Cup clash against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday afternoon.

The Championship outfit currently sit 11th in the table and three points adrift of the play-off zone despite spending much of the campaign in the top six, with recent results seeing them slide down the table.

 

 

With this, it came as little surprise that Smith was dismissed last month, with their poor form and toxic atmosphere at Carrow Road making it inevitable that the former Aston Villa boss would eventually be relieved of his duties.

He is now set to be replaced by Wagner who guided league rivals Huddersfield to the Premier League in 2017 via the play-offs, with the 51-year-old arguably overachieving during his time at the John Smith's Stadium.

Not only did he guide them to the top tier - but he was able to keep them there for more than one season before departing the West Yorkshire outfit in 2019. He has spent time with Schalke and Young Boys since - but is now set for a return to England.

The Verdict:

It will be interesting to see if this appointment works out for the best because he certainly enjoyed a decent time at Huddersfield and should be commended for his work there.

Considering how they have fared since his dismissal, that just reinforces how much of a difference he made at the John Smith's Stadium with Carlos Corberan making a similar impact before moving on in the summer.

At Huddersfield though, there weren't huge expectations and it even came as a surprise to some that the likes of the Terriers and Reading managed to claim a top-six place at the end of the 2016/17 campaign.

This is in contrast to the situation he would find himself in at Norwich, with many supporters expecting their team to be actively competing for promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

And with this, you just feel how he handles the pressure could determine how well he fares at Carrow Road. Following his time with the Terriers, there will be high expectations of him.