"A massive move" - Pundit reacts as Norwich City secure Arsenal agreement | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer has given his verdict on Norwich City's appointment of Jack Wilshere as a coach

Carlton Palmer believes the arrival of Jack Wilshere at Norwich City is a massive move for the club.

The Canaries confirmed earlier this week that the former midfielder has joined Johannes Hoff Thorup’s coaching staff.

The 32-year-old is the replacement for Narcís Pelach, who departed in September to become manager at Stoke City.

Wilshere previously worked at Arsenal as manager of the U18 side, and has earned a reputation as a promising up-and-coming coach.

He has played a key role in developing exciting, young talent at the London club, with several of those stars now on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s first team squad.

Carlton Palmer gives Jack Wilshere verdict

Palmer is excited by the prospect of Wilshere arriving at Norwich, and believes it is another example of the club’s shrewd recruitment.

He has also raised the possibility of this giving the Norfolk outfit an advantage in the transfer market, as Wilshere could help facilitate loan moves for some of Arsenal’s brightest young talents from their academy setup.

“Norwich City, after 11 games, are sitting at seventh place on 17 points, only two points off a play-off spot,” Palmer told Football League World.

“And they’ve now taken Jack Wilshere as a coach from Arsenal, who was highly rated at Arsenal.

“He’s very young, Jack, he finished playing through injury, went and did his coaching badges, wanted to stay involved in the game of football, was a terrific player, who knows what he would’ve gone on to achieve if he hadn’t had those constant injury problems.

“But we’ll have to wait and see, he’s very highly rated and this is a great opportunity to go to Norwich.

“It shows Norwich’s forward-thinking in bringing in somebody like Jack Wilshere.

“I think it’s a massive move from Norwich, which shows the forward-thinking they’ve always done with their recruitment, look at the players they’ve recruited in the past, who they’ve developed and sold on.

“So I think it’s big business from Norwich, and I think we’ll have to watch Jack Wilshere and see how he goes on.

“We’ve seen it with Arsenal before, who’ve produced some very talented footballers, who have also gone on to be some really, really good head coaches and managers in the Football League.

“I think this is a massive move for Norwich, and also you’ve got to look at this: he's come from Arsenal, he knows the young players, and this will help them if they want to bring in young players from Arsenal as well.

“Because Arsenal will look at these young players going to the Championship, with Norwich at the right end of the table to develop their players.”

Norwich City’s promotion push

Wilshere will now be coming on board Thorup’s coaching staff, with the club eyeing a push for a play-off place in the Championship this season.

This is Norwich’s third year back in the second division, so they will have their sights set on a return to the Premier League.

Thorup’s side currently sit seventh in the table, two points adrift of the top six after the opening 11 games of the campaign.

Next up for the Canaries is a home game against Middlesbrough on 27 October.

Wilshere’s arrival at Norwich is an exciting move

Wilshere has earned some great managerial experience working in the academy setup at Arsenal, and a move to Norwich is now a great chance to start working in first team football.

It will be a step up in expectation for the 32-year-old, but it’s a challenge he will likely relish, having thrived at the highest level as a player during his time at Arsenal.

Thorup has made a bright start to life at Norwich, and adding in Wilshere should only help the players.