Stuart Webber is calling time on his spell with Norwich City after spending six years with the Canaries. The sporting director has been strongly linked with a move to Leeds United since the departure of Victor Orta and his decision to hand in his notice at Carrow Road is only likely to fuel the speculation that he will be landing at Elland Road in the not-too-distant future.
Webber will stay with the Canaries to work his notice and according to reports that means he wouldn’t be able to leave the club until March next year. However, his decision coincides with the strong rumours that Daniel Farke will be appointed to fill the vacant head coach role in West Yorkshire.
Farke and Webber worked together in East Anglia, winning two promotions to the Premier League and enjoying success together before Farke was sacked. Webber is actually credited with playing a key role in bringing Farke over to England in 2017.
Read more: Leeds United-linked Stuart Webber to leave Norwich City as he addresses 'exciting' future
The German had spent two seasons in charge of Borussia Dortmund’s reserves after taking over from current Norwich boss David Wagner. Webber was part of the decision-making process to take Wagner to Huddersfield Town during his time at the John Smith’s Stadium and he favoured a similar recruitment path at Norwich.
Farke led Norwich to the title in his second season with Norwich, backed by a number of Webber signings, and he repeated the feat two years later as the Norfolk outfit bounced back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. When it comes to transfer movement, Webber has, of course, had hits and misses over his six years at the club.
The successes stand out, though, and Emiliano Buendia is undoubtedly one. The Argentine had just been relegated to the third tier of Spanish football while on loan at Cultural Leonesa and his switch to Norwich flew firmly under the radar.
However, Buendia went on to spend three successful seasons at Norwich before making the move to Aston Villa for £33million. He has since worked his way into the Argentina set-up. Bringing Teemu Pukki back to British shores looks an inspired piece of business, while the free transfer of Tim Krul is a positive, too.
Josh Sargent, Grant Hanley and Kenny McLean will all go down as Webber successes, too. The signing of Gabriel Sara for just £6m from Sao Paulo in July 2022 looks to be one his most recent triumphs in the transfer market, though, with the Brazilian finding himself at home in the Championship last season.
What stands out is that business has been shrouded. Norwich haven't made a habit of splashing the cash and when they have, it hasn't always been successful. Milot Rashica is perhaps an example of that after his £11m move from Werder Bremen.
Webber has promoted the club’s academy, too, with current first-team regulars Max Aarons, Adam Idah and Andrew Omobamidele all breaking through on his watch. Recruitment for the academy side has been frequent and in Webber’s own words, Norwich’s academy is now regarded as one of the finest around.
“The academy was ranked 82nd out of the 92 when I arrived, we’re now 17th,” he told the Telegraph. Throw in his work in helping to develop the club’s new £20m training ground and his impact off the pitch is clear to see.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the 39-year-old and relegation from the Premier League, followed by an underwhelming finish of 13th in the Championship has seen him attract criticism from supporters at Carrow Road. Disgruntled fans took aim at Webber this season as the Canaries struggled to find consistency in the second tier under Dean Smith and Wagner, following the decision to change direction in December, with many pointing to his decision-making in recruitment as one of the reasons why they failed to launch a promotion challenge at the first time of asking.
He would have hoped to have been able to help establish Norwich as a top-flight club during his tenure and while he has overseen two Premier League seasons, the Canaries currently sit where Webber found them when he arrived, in the Championship.
It remains to be seen whether the Welshman will join up with Leeds, the club he is known to support, but he is well respected around the game due to his work at Norwich, who the bookies consider to be one of United's main rivals for promotion next season.
