2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Theo Squires)
Norwich City head Johannes Hoff Thorup has explained why Kaide Gordon's loan move to the club was terminated after half a season Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has explained why Kaide Gordon’s loan move from Liverpool did not work out. The forward returned to the Reds earlier this month after his season-long loan was cut short. The 20-year-old made 10 appearances during his time at Carrow Road, scoring one goal.
However, he only started once for, and made just three substitute appearances - totalling just 13 minutes - after making his full Canaries debut. Gordon returned to Liverpool , having featured for just 177 minutes for Norwich. And while he was a valued member of the Canaries squad, Thorup has admitted the forward was a work in progress rather than being ready to make an immediate impact for the club.
“I rate him as a good player with a big potential,” he said. “The situation with him is when we bring a player in on loan, you expect more or less a performance from day one. "If he was a player here on a long-term contract I would be more than happy to work with him, because there is a player with potential.
He can show that if you give him the trust and maybe he finds a place over the next couple of years where he can show that. “It was difficult because he came in and that performance was not there from day one. We had to build him, physically and also tactically in the way we play.
“This league is so competitive, so physical, you can be prepared in some ways but it is a completely different environment to youth football. It will take time. Some are good at more or less taking that step from day one.
"Others it takes longer but with a loan player you need that step more or less from day one. I think for him it would be good to get game time for a season or two in one place.” He continued: "It is always a fine balance because we could commit a lot of time on him, and you get to a point where he is ready to play maybe eight games from the end of the season.
“Or we can choose to do the opposite and focus on a player in the building on a long-term contract? Is it better for us to spend time on him? “A great player, a great person and I think he loved to be here. He was great around the team, I think I can speak on behalf of some of the players to say he was a great friend to some of them. We wish him all the best.
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