The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is absolutely massive. Teams promoted to the top-flight of English football have to learn to swim or sink pretty quickly. Some sink without a trace. One of the top-flight new boys looking to avoid a quick return to the Championship is Norwich City. The Canaries finished last season as champions of the second tier under highly-rated German boss Daniel Farke.

The team from Norfolk were outstanding last season. However, everybody connected with the club will know that they need to strengthen well this summer to survive in the top-flight.

Made some shrewd moves already

Norwich have already brought in two new recruits and neither of them cost the earth. The first summer was of Manchester City’s young playmaker Patrick Roberts on a season-long loan deal.

The 22-year-old is a bright young attacking player, who spent last season on loan at Girona in La Liga. The youngster struggled to hit form in Spain. He had previously spent a highly successful two-and-half years spell with Scottish giants Celtic, who were keen to keep him. A move back to England should suit Roberts better than playing in La Liga. He will now be determined to show that his form at Celtic was not just a fluke.

The Canaries second summer signing of the campaign is rarely an interesting one, as they managed to sign Josip Drmic from Monchengladbach on a free transfer. The 26-year-old looks to be a real bargain.

The 26-year-old was highly rated throughout the European football scene just a few years ago. However, injuries have hampered his game time and development in recent seasons. The versatile Swiss international can play anywhere across the forward line and should fit in well with Farke’s style of attacking football.

If he can stay clear of injuries, then Drmic could prove to be one of the Premier League signings of the summer. That is a big if, though. Hopefully, for the players and his new clubs’ sake, his injuries are now behind him.

Both signings are the sort that Premier League new boys have to make. The two players involved whose signings could go either way, as both have experienced struggles in their careers of late. However, both are low-risk signings and Norwich cannot afford to splash the cash too much just in case their time in the top-flight is short-lived.

One of the favourites for relegation

As is the case with most newly promoted teams, Norwich are one of the favourites for relegation next season. Only Sheffield United, who finished second last season are shorter odds than the Canaries to suffer relegation from the top-flight next season.

However, Norwich are by no means pushovers. In Daniel Farke they have a promising young coach, who seems to have everybody pulling in the right direction. Some have made comparisons with former Huddersfield boss David Wagner, in the way that they like to play football. Arguably Farke has a better infrastructure at Norwich to retain top-flight football than Wagner had with the Terriers. With a few more shrewd signings this summer, Norwich could surprise many people next season in the Premier League.

Can Norwich strengthen enough to avoid relegation next season?