Norwich City face a tough transfer decision this summer in regards to loanee Jacob Wright, as Championship rivals Preston North End are preparing to hijack their move.
The 19-year-old is currently mid-way through his six-month loan stint with Norwich City, with whom he chose over Preston due to their style of football.
However, despite the Canaries having a permanent option within the deal, Preston are reportedly keen to hijack the deal and bring him to Deepdale instead.
This is according to journalist Alan Nixon who has reported that Wright will have the final say and a deal for either club is set to cost over £2 million.
Norwich or Preston for Wright
Midfielder Jacob Wright appears unlikely to hold a long-term future at Manchester City and looks increasingly likely to head into the Championship for the next stage of his career.
Norwich beat Preston to his signature during the January transfer window, signing him on a six-month loan deal initially.
However, the Canaries can sign him permanently this summer and now have a tough decision to make.
They’ll need to evaluate how he’s performed so far this season, how well he fits into the clubs system, what the clubs summer transfer plans are and whether spending seven-figures for Wright is a deal worth doing.
How has he fared this season?
The 19-year-old began the campaign with Manchester City’s U21s, featuring 17 times across all competitions including three appearances in the UEFA Youth League.
During that time, Wright contributed to eight goals from midfield.
In the previous transfer window, Wright was loaned out in order to earn first-team minutes and opted to join play-off chasing Norwich City rather than bottom-half Preston.
Since his arrival at Carrow Road, Wright has made seven appearances but was an unused substitute during Norwich’s defeat against Bristol City on Friday evening.
What decision should they make?
Norwich City’s form in 2025 has saw them fall to the bottom half of the Championship, eight points off the play-offs with just eight games to go.
Currently, the Canaries are two points and one place ahead of Preston North End, and their fall into the bottom half could suggest a busy summer is in-store for Norwich.
Wright hasn’t contributed to a goal this season and has only played a combined 331 minutes across his seven outings. This works out at just 47.3 minutes per game so far.
Financially speaking, this is a deal that both clubs can afford to do. Norwich have funds from player sales and are known to have spent more money on players before.
Meanwhile, Preston North End have money from their ongoing FA Cup run, with a quarter-final against Aston Villa on the horizon.
Due to the short time span that he’s been at Carrow Road – it’s fair to say that Norwich fans simply haven’t seen enough of him to warrant an accurate decision which means it’s a bigger risk.
Wright has a good goal contributing record at youth level but hasn’t scored yet in the Championship. However, he knows the club well enough currently, is familiar with tactics and will only get better – which means Norwich should consider triggering his option before losing him to a league opponent.
Norwich fans, what decision would you make?