HOW CAN THE CANARIES SHORE UP A LEAKY DEFENCE AND STAY UP?

The reason promoted sides bank on continuing momentum in their new surroundings is easily pinned down: going up is a heady experience.

Points, wins and goals paper over the cracks until everyone is convinced they’re watching perfection. The end result only reaffirms the feeling. Norwich had the lot in abundance last season, and the supporters went to town as they lifted the Championship trophy. Then the summer arrived… Norwich fans have enough recent Premier League experience to see the open expanses their players created at either end of the pitch, and know even the mid-table sides you need to pluck points from have the quality to make life very uncomfortable.

Having both full-backs playing in a front three with Teemu Pukki is already primed for early Match of the Day analysis, with Alan Shearer, neck muscles tensed, bellowing, “It’s naive, you can’t do that at this level.”

Given there won’t be significant alterations to the Canaries’ title-winning squad, much will rest on the shoulders of head coach Daniel Farke. Philosophy, culture and comparison will wrestle pragmatism, inexperience and that brutal reality the Premier League amplifies with each passing campaign. His 4-2-3-1 may give way to a 3-4-3 more often, which would also hand an extra centre-back game time.

It’s been a long-held belief that the technical and patient style Farke has built since 2017 is more suited to top-flight football than Championship rigours. Any imagined comparisons with Fulham’s recruitment last summer apply only until you appreciate the Canaries won’t come armed with a £100m demolition of the squad that had earned their windfall in the first place.

Cup ties offer shaky comparisons, but in victory at Cardiff and defeat at Bournemouth last term, Farke’s side offered encouragement that they have something to work with. Even the German’s first season featured standout performances in the League Cup at Arsenal and FA Cup at Chelsea – glimpses that the manager’s attractive, controlled possession game was adaptable when he had to tweak the balance between leaving space and creating it.

Most intriguing will be the players. Goalkeeper Tim Krul has improvement to maintain and in Jamal Lewis, Max Aarons and Ben Godfrey, Norwich have a trio of genuine top-class defensive prospects.

Never underestimate the determination of talent and potential – even in the most brutal environments.