The Canaries are working on a deal to explore the prospect of adding the 25-year-old to Philippe Clement’s squad this month, along with other potential wide targets.
A deal is yet to be agreed, but Norwich have watched Ahmed’s performances in the MLS for a prolonged period and are in the market for attacking reinforcements as they bid to improve their standing in the Championship.
Ahmed, who has been capped 22 times by Canada, recorded 11 assists and two goals for Vancouver in their MLS campaign, which ended with a 3-1 defeat to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the final last month. He has played over 100 times as a left winger but is also capable of playing at left back and in a more central role.
His development in the last two years has seen him lauded in MLS circles and earn the trust of national team boss Jesse Marsch, who praised his footballing intelligence and running power in an interview back in October.
“I would argue that Ali understands how we play better than anyone on the entire team, tactically and intellectually,” Marsch told CBC Sports. “I value Ali as a player maybe more than any coach he’s ever had, because he understands exactly what I need from players who play in his spot.
Ali makes mistakes like everyone else, but in terms of his pure understanding of what’s necessary at any moment, he’s almost perfect. And he can run for days.”
Earlier this week, Clement mapped out their January hopes – explaining that injecting some more creativity in their group as a priority.
“I’m not going to go into detail about positions because I don’t want to put the people in the club with their back against the wall,” Clement said.
Philippe Clement is hoping for creative reinforcements in the January transfer window. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
“Then you push them about those positions until the 31st of January, but it’s clear that we need to gain creativity in the final third. That’s what we saw also in this last game. We need to strengthen there and everybody is aligned around that.
“For me, it’s about quality. So, I prefer somebody who’s 12 years old but is an incredible player, and of course I’m exaggerating now, over somebody who’s 37 and did everything in the game, but he’s not fit anymore, and he cannot do it anymore.
“It’s about quality. Of course, if you can add quality and leadership and you can do both it’s always better but I know also it’s a January window is a difficult window because there’s not one club in the world who wants to lose their best players or players who played a lot of games.
“We will see. It’s about quality and getting the right quality. That’s the major thing.”