Norwich City: Award nominations for David Wagner and Gabriel Sara

After a promising start to the Championship campaign that saw Norwich win four of their opening five games last month, Wagner and Sara’s contributions have been recognised. 

Both feature on shortlists for monthly awards after an impressive August that saw them boast an unbeaten record and take 10 points from a possible 12, as well as progressing through both rounds of the Carabao Cup. 

Victories against Hull, Millwall and Huddersfield saw them race out of the blocks in the league, with a 4-4 draw against promotion favourites Southampton also sitting among their results in the first month of the campaign.

A fast start was considered of paramount importance after a run towards the back end of the campaign that saw Norwich win just once in 11 matches and the mood among supporters turn toxic. 

Wagner has worked the players hard during a gruelling pre-season and seems to be reaping the benefits of being handed a full preparation period to embed his ideas properly after being thrust into the role in January last year. 

Norwich top the goal-scoring charts in the Championship after five games and have looked effective playing the high-octane brand of football the German has demanded. 

Wagner is competing with Leicester boss Enzo Maresca, who enjoyed a 100pc record during August, John Eustace at Birmingham and Preston’s Ryan Lowe for the gong. 

Sara’s nomination comes after a flurry of sparkling early season performances, even despite a disjointed pre-season owing to appendix surgery in the early part of summer. 

The Brazilian has ranked top of the chance-creating rankings, having made 17 opportunities for his colleagues in just four matches. It came as a welcome relief when the transfer window closed and Sara remained a Norwich player. 

David Wagner and Gabriel Sara have enjoyed a strong start to the season. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

One goal and two assists don’t paint a full picture of his level of performance. Sara has emerged as City’s creator-in-chief as they raced to the top of the early goal-scoring charts.

Sam Morsy (Ipswich), Ozan Tufan (Hull) and Andre Vidigal (Stoke) are also in contention for the award. 

The winners of both the Manager and Player of the Month awards will be unveiled on Friday morning.