Norwich City are currently sitting in 12th position in the Championship table, but reports of Kaide Gordon’s loan spell being ceased early may leave fans perplexed at his lack of game time.

The Liverpool Echo’s Paul Gorst is inclined to believe that the 20-year-old could make his way back to Merseyside and join up with his parent club, Liverpool, as soon as this January.

Why isn’t Gordon favoured in the lineup?

Head coach, Johannes Hoff Thorup, has stated that Gordon was expected to play a significantly higher amount of minutes when first arriving at Norwich. However, with only one Championship start under his belt this season, the 20-year-old’s spell may get cut short.

“The ideal scenario was that he was in the starting line-up every weekend. That is not the situation at the moment.

“He’s struggling to get into the team with all it takes physically and especially tactically. As a football team, we need more than 20 players to create the competition that we want to have. It’s a natural thing and for the moment, he is out of the team because I prioritise some of the others.”

As a right-sided winger, Gordon’s competition for players has been ripe. With talent such as Ante Crnac and Oscar Schwartau suiting the Canaries’ physicality and tactical mould better, it is no wonder why the 20-year-old has been put down the pecking order at Carrow Road.

Thorup retains belief in youngster

With only one goal and eight appearances off the bench, the 20-year-old’s future has been looking uncertain since the get-go. But, the Norwich boss has offered condolences and some reassurance to Gordon in that the situation can still change.

“I don’t think I will consider now whether he should go back in January because I see such a busy schedule, so I can easily see that he could make his way into the team again if he’s training well and doing stuff like he’s supposed to do, then there is a way in for him.

“At the end, it is also up to him in his career what his next step should be.”

Writer’s View

It is a very professional approach from Thorup, as he is aware that a balance needs to be struck on what is right for Norwich as a squad and a competitive force in the second tier, but also for Gordon himself as an emerging professional in an ever-evolving game.

With that said, the Liverpool winger would be expected to search for another Championship or League One loan spell if he were to be recalled in January. It is almost impossible to see him breaking into the Premier League leaders’ set-up after a poor spell with Norwich.