Norwich City manager Johaness Hoff Thorup has given his verdict on Leeds United target Jonathan Rowe’s omission from his side’s squad to face Oxford United today.
Thorup had insisted Rowe’s head was in the right head space to be available for their opening day trip to the newly promoted U’s, but was a surprise absentee.
According to reports, Rowe is the one believed to have made the decision this morning, as opposed to Norwich pulling him out due to a bid from elsewhere.
Leeds have been locked in talks with Norwich for a number of days now and are believed to have made some decent progress in meeting their asking price.
However, it was Marseille who made the first formal offer on Friday night, which could well be the tipping point to Rowe’s decision today.
Norwich boss explains Rowe absence vs Oxford
Rowe’s absence from the side was clearly hard felt for Thorup in his competitive match as Norwich boss given they were defeated 2-0 by Oxford.
After losing Gabriel Sara last weekend, Rowe has now become Norwich’s most important player in the final third, but clearly they are now at risk of losing him.
From Leeds’ perspective, he is exactly the type of winger needed to replace Crysencio Summerville after an impressive return of 12 goals last season.
Despite scoring three goals against Portsmouth, Leeds really could’ve done with that extra clinical return in the final third at Elland Road today, of which Rowe could provide.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Thorup has admitted he will need to sit down and have a conversation with Rowe about his decision, but was less than impressed with the timing of it.
He said: “It was too late a decision. It shouldn’t happen on game day. It’s fair to say it can have some effect on the performance. Him, I and Ben needs to have a conversation about what happened today.”
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What is the latest on Leeds’ interest in Rowe?
Leeds are still yet to officially make an offer for Rowe but have remained in talks with Norwich throughout the week.
Pink Un journalist Connor Southwell yesterday said on Twitter the fact Norwich have continued to engage in negotiations is a sign they are willing to sell.
However, Leeds are going to have to seriously get a move on to get a deal done, given that Marseille are now at the table with an offer.
After such a decision from Rowe today, though, you would expect a fairly quick resolution to his future in the coming days.
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