Norwich will allow Andrew Omobamidele and Max Aarons to leave this summer

Norwich are set to allow Andrew Omobamidele and Max Aarons to leave the club this summer.

Norwich finished 13th in the Championship this season and club legend Teemu Pukki was one of six first-team players allowed to leave at the end of the campaign. Academy products Omobamidele and Aarons are now expected to follow.

Aarons has 12 months remaining on his contract while Republic of Ireland international Omobamidele is tied down until 2026 but will also be allowed to leave.

Sporting director Stuart Webber claims Norwich turned down an offer of more than £20million for the 20-year-old in January and expects further interest this summer.

He said: “We turned down an offer in January, which was bigger than we had for Ben Godfrey (who joined Everton for £20m in 2020). That’s what we think of Andrew and the level of club that is talking to us about him.

“So I think theirs is a big possibility he could go in this window, if I’m honest. Do we want him to? No. But it will get to a point where if it helps us do other stuff at the club, and also if it’s right for the player.

“The one in January actually wasn’t right for us and probably wasn’t quite right for him as well at that time when I spoke to him and about him. It was a foreign club.

“If we start here on September 1 with Andrew, I’d be very surprised and very happy.”

England Under-21 international Aarons has been with Norwich since 2016, but Webber believes the time may be right for both parties to part ways.

“I think it’s time probably for Max to make a move, if I’m honest. I’ve said that to him.

“I think he’s outgrown the club. I think he’s ready to go and he needs a new stimulus now, and that’s OK. But it’s got to be right for us as a club because we’d rather lose him on a free in a year than sell him cheap now, which then devalues our other players and we still then have to replace him.

“We’re comfortable if Max ends up leaving in a year. We would’ve had six years worth of incredible work over probably by then, 250 games, out of a guy who cost us £10,000 from Luton.

“I think we definitely got our money’s worth there. If that’s what happens, it happens.”

‘Expect plenty of change this summer’

Analysis from Michael Bailey

Is it a surprise these two are being allowed to leave?
Norwich have to balance their books with player sales every season, even when they get promoted. So you can imagine their need given a 13th-place finish in the Championship.

Omobamidele stands out as a highly promising player, although he did not impress this season as many had hoped. While Webber will have a fee in mind and clearly wants to see the Irishman for more than the club earned for Godfrey, it remains to be seen what actual offers arrive on his table.

As for Aarons, it currently feels like his valuation path is more closely aligned to that of Todd Cantwell, who left for a relatively low fee in the final months of his contract and joined Rangers in January.

Aarons has given great service and has always been consistent, but he is also a player Norwich had hoped to sell for £30million only two years ago.

What is expected this summer?
Webber will look for relatively cheap signings that can offer a future value increase or stronger character than David Wagner’s squad offered this season.

Wagner has already said he wants plenty of change in the group and Webber is expected to oblige across various positions on the pitch. They also want the majority of their business done before the start of preseason.

Ashley Barnes has started the process, joining as a free agent from July 1, after his Burnley contract expired.

(Top photo: Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images)