Here’s why CanMNT regular Ali Ahmed has hit the ground running at new club Norwich City
Ali Ahmed’s dream start to life in England continued this week, as he had another excellent performance in Norwich City’s shock 2-1 win over Coventry City on Monday.
Even though Norwich entered the match hovering on the edge of the Championship’s relegation places, they managed to pick up an impressive win against league leaders Coventry, picking up an important 2-1 comeback result after going down 1-0 in the first half.
Powering that comeback, however, was none other than Ahmed, who, in just his third game with the club, put together another excellent performance for the Canaries.
First, he had an assist on his side’s first goal, playing in Anis Ben Slimane with an excellent through ball in the 46th minute, before scoring the winner with a tidy left-footed finish in the 67th minute.
Ohhhh, I wanna dance with Slimane 🕺 pic.twitter.com/yFvc5gbVQZ
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 26, 2026
With that, he now sits with two goals and two assists in his first three games for Norwich, after having nabbed an assist in his debut vs. Wrexham, and a goal in his second appearance vs. West Bromwich Albion.
Ali's Carrow Road arrival 😤 pic.twitter.com/NSHzVuMl0S
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 26, 2026
Safe to say, his new side couldn’t have dreamed of a better start from Ahmed, who has helped his team build a four-point buffer on the final relegation spot, as they’re looking less and less likely to go down to League One in each game that they play. That they were able to pull out such an impressive win against a side that seems likely to end up in the English Premier League later this year in Coventry, cements that.
What’s most surprising about Ahmed’s hot start, though, is the clinical nature that he’s showing in the final third. While he took a big step forward in that regard for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2025, scoring four goals and adding 12 assists (after scoring just four goals and adding one assist in his first three seasons with the Whitecaps first team), it’s still an area of his game that he’s looking to improve on.
Not a bad way to score your first City goal 🤝 pic.twitter.com/nsYTfgxC4p
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 21, 2026
There was a reason that he’d originally struggled to find a regular position on the Whitecaps, who had used him as a full back and a midfielder before he became a winger under head coach Jesper Sørensen, a move that ended up being a stroke of genius. 
Here's Ali Ahmed's heatmap from his first few games with Norwich, showcasing his ability to get on the ball in dangerous areas on the left (WyScout)
Thanks to his ability to tuck inside and combine with his teammates (as he did with Ben Slimane against Coventry), but also to stay wide and take on players 1v1, he brings a unique dimension to a team’s attack when deployed on the left.
Ali 🔗 Anis pic.twitter.com/MPnxDg9Hib
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 17, 2026
For example, what stands out from this Coventry match is that this was just the fourth time in Ahmed’s career (for club and country) that he’d generated multiple goal contributions in a game, showing how clinical he was in the final third. 
Typically, in the past, even if he’d have a lively performance with several shot-generating actions, Ahmed wouldn’t be able to turn that into the sort of output that his play deserved, which was a knock on this game, which is otherwise incredibly well-rounded for a winger.
Granted, though, it’s worth noting that this offensive side of Ahmed’s game has been improving for a while now, as he’s done a great job of slowing down his brain when on the ball in the final third. Not only did he have a breakout 2025 for the Whitecaps in terms of goal contributions, but he also had a noticeable uptick in his production in the second half of the season, more specifically.
Since September of last year, he has six goals and eight assists in his last 20 games for club and country - an average of 0.7 goal contributions per game. Not only that, but three of his four career multi-goal contribution games have come over that span, too, with one coming for the Whitecaps (in the Canadian Championship final against Vancouver FC), one for the CanMNT (in a friendly against Romania), and now the other with Norwich. 
Here's Ali Ahmed's heatmap from the 2025 season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. As seen above, he got on the ball a lot in the opposition's half, but especially in and around the box on that left-hand side (WyScout)
That’s worth noting, as it means that this Norwich hot streak hasn’t exactly come out of nowhere for him, even if it’s felt like it. Therefore, while it’s unlikely that he keeps up this pace and finishes 2025-2026 with 10 goals and 10 assists for his new club, it’s not out of the question that he still keeps producing at a good rate going forward, given that the way he tends to consistently get into good positions in the final third.
GOAL 🔵🔵🔵
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 2, 2025
Ali Ahmed gets his brace and the @WhitecapsFC have a third 🔥
🔴 Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer & TSN 4/5 pic.twitter.com/erOMJxzH9K
Plus, it’s not as if his numbers have suggested that he’s gotten lucky, either. He’s been a bit fortunate to get two goals out of four shots worth a total of 0.37 xG, but his assists total is more deserved, as it’s come from three key passes worth a combined 0.96 xA, showing that ability to get into good spots in and around the box.
Otherwise, it’s important to note that he’s averaging 4.26 dribbles per 90 (at a 55.6% clip), 6.63 touches in the box, and 2.37 passes into the box, further indicating that he is indeed getting the ball to the right areas of the pitch.
Considering that he averaged 5.69 dribbles (at a 57.6% clip), 1.67 key passes, 5.08 touches in the box, and 4.09 passes into the box per 90 for the Whitecaps in 2025, there are signs that he can sustain and even build on his early Norwich numbers as he gets his fitness up and continues to adapt to the Championship, too. 
Here's Ahmed's percentile chart from last year - as seen above, he was an elite creator and ball progresser, as expected, but he was also elite in his shot quality and touches in the box. And, of course, he was very good defensively. Where he wanted to grow was in his finishing - which he's starting to do (WyScout)
That’s good news, because this move could be what Ahmed needs to level up as a player. While it’s not necessarily a clear upgrade of a move from MLS, especially considering Norwich’s current position as a team in a relegation battle and the Whitecaps’ as a trophy contender, there’s a lot of long-term upside for Ahmed if he can succeed at his new club.
With the growth of the Championship in recent years, it’s become a legitimate feeder league for other top five leagues in Europe, which is where Ahmed will likely want to end up. Given that he was often linked with teams in those leagues when with the Whitecaps, that’s a fair assumption to make.
WE. ARE. LEVEL.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 6, 2025
Ali Ahmed scores and it's tied. // MLS Cup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com/Auh3sq7Dd5
But instead of taking the risk of going right to a top-five league and struggling off the bat, his move to Norwich has allowed him to go to a comparable league, one where he can get minutes and showcase himself. Perhaps, he could even help Norwich get promoted back to the Premier League next year, and take a shortcut to a top-five league without leaving the club.
Plus, with his style of play, he’s proven to be a natural fit for the Championship, which helps his case of doing well in the league. Thanks to his relentless motor on both sides of the ball, he’s quite fit, making it easier for him to handle the heavy load of minutes that a league playing a 46-game schedule can place on players.
Really, the big question was how he’d handle the technical level of the league, and the early answer is quite well. Granted, that’s not surprising, especially when seeing how good he was for both club and country in 2025, but it’s still encouraging to see him make such a seamless transition.
Now, the big goal for Ahmed will be to bottle up the energy he’s built from this good start and find a way to sustain that for as long as possible, helping Norwich stay up. He does that, and he’ll cement his spot as a starter for the CanMNT at the World Cup this summer (although he’s already been a favourite in that race for a while now), while opening the door for more growth at the club level.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
ALI AHMED presses and then snatches the ball off the Romanian 'keeper to tap in for a 2-0 lead 😎
🔴 Watch LIVE on TSN & OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/nl9sv6HdGP
Based on the way that the last few years have gone, you wouldn’t bet against him adding another dimension to his game - perhaps this recent goalscoring spree, spurred on by his goal in last year’s MLS Cup final, is offering a glimpse of what’s next in Ahmed’s evolution at his new club.
