Norwich should make move for Fulham star as Max Aarons replacement if he leaves Carrow Road: Opinion

Norwich City could be in the hunt for a new right-back with Premier League clubs linked with Max Aarons

Max Aarons remains as the final piece of the winning formula that saw Norwich City endure countless success under Daniel Farke – though he may well be moving on in the coming weeks.

A team that boasted the likes of Ben Godfrey, Emi Buendia, Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwell as the young guard, with Teemu Pukki’s goals up front – Norwich’s iconic yo-yo side under Farke was one to behold, with the aforementioned quadruple being sold for a combined fee of £72million, which could’ve been more had Cantwell been sold in his prime.

But Aarons remains, and whilst that represents a strong foothold for the Canaries, it seems nailed on that the right-back will leave in the summer. The fee they bring in will need to be reinvested; and there could be one man for the job in Fulham’s Kevin Mbabu.

Why would Kevin Mbabu be a good replacement for Max Aarons?

Whilst Aarons has been a very good stalwart in the yo-yo Norwich side, the club stagnated last season, and therefore it is always within the realms of possibility that the club could look towards a switch up in their playing personnel.

Aarons has only missed 13 league games since making his debut for the Canaries in 2018, an outstanding record for a 23-year-old player who has made over 213 appearances for the club he joined at the age of 2016.

Of course, Norwich would need someone who can play a similar amount of games at a similar output; and despite not having that in Mbabu, they would boast a player who has played over 66 games in the Bundesliga, earned 22 caps for his country, won two league titles and endured two stints in the Premier League. If permanent game time can be added to that, they could be on to a bigger winner than first thought.

What fee has been touted for Max Aarons’ exit?

Whilst West Ham and Tottenham have been linked this summer due to their increased transfer kitty following Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal, Aarons has had transfer interest from Barcelona and Manchester United before – but with a year left on his contract, a transfer fee is quite tough to call.

The Sun suggest that Aarons is valued at £10million by Norwich as a result of his contract expiring in 12 months, which could grow narrowly smaller as the window continues with a reluctance to keep him and lose his services for free. That would surely be more than enough to replace him with Mbabu, who joined Fulham last year for £5million and failed to pull up any trees in west London – though Fulham would likely look to recoup most of their outlay.

What has Max Aarons said about his potential departure from Norwich City?

Aarons declared that it could be time to move on in an interview with The Athletic earlier this summer, stating: “Stuart [Webber, director of football] communicated those thoughts with me and my family and we share the exact same view.

“I do feel it’s the right time for me now to pursue that next chapter. I’m highly ambitious as a player to go play at the highest level. I’ve got aspirations of playing for the England senior team and in the Premier League and I do need to take that next step to be able to do that.”