The Canaries lead both the Magpies and Villans in the Championship so far.
Andy Hinchcliffe has praised Norwich City’s approach in comparison with Championship promotion rivals Newcastle United and Aston Villa, in an interview with Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly podcast.
The pair lead the way in terms of transfer fees paid by second tier clubs during the summer transfer window, dwarfing the £15 million reportedly spent by fellow relegated side Norwich.
Despite this, the Canaries currently lead the way in terms of league position – sitting two points and a place above Newcastle and nine points and 16 places higher than Villa.
Going under the radar, though, suits Alex Neil’s side, according to former England defender Hinchcliffe.
“It’s not their philosophy and it was never was going to be their philosophy,” he told Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly podcast. “Even with the money they probably took down from the Premier League, they were never going to spend it like Villa and Newcastle. There’s a real philosophy there at Norwich to do things their way, they stuck by Alex Neil, they didn’t think ‘because we’ve been relegated everything has to change’.
“I think it is the right approach just to stick with what they did last time. Of course a lot of players will be getting more game time, younger players will be in that Norwich team that wouldn’t have played if they’d have stayed in the Premier League.
“Alex Neil will be quite happy to be under the radar and let Villa and Newcastle take all the spotlight. They are going about their business very carefully.”
Unlike Newcastle and Villa, Norwich have kept largely the same group of players together from last season, with Nathan Redmond – sold to Southampton for a reported £10 million fee – their only notable departure.
The Redmond money helped to fund deals for wingers Sergi Canos and Alex Pritchard from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, while Benfica striker Nelson Oliveira was the Canaries’ only other fee-paying summer transfer.
Goalkeepers Michael McGovern and Paul Jones also arrived at Carrow Road after their contracts elsewhere expired.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
