Onel Hernandez’s Norwich City wage & contract situation as Thorup confirms club suspension
Norwich City winger Onel Hernandez finds himself at a career crossroads following his suspension for inappropriate social media activity.
Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup confirmed the 32-year-old’s absence from the matchday squad against Sunderland due to a disciplinary issue.
Hernandez, who has been with the club since January 2018, was left out after reportedly engaging with social media posts critical of the club and Thorup himself.
Though Thorup declined to go into detail, he acknowledged the issue was linked to Hernandez’s behaviour online, suggesting the Cuban international had “crossed the line” in what is considered an internal disciplinary matter.
Onel Hernandez’s Norwich contract and wage under scrutiny after suspension
“It is a disciplinary issue,” Thorup said, speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk.
“It’s a matter of how [Onel] reacts, how he responds, and what he wants to do. There’s a consequence when you make those mistakes.”
This latest episode comes at a time when Hernandez’s long-term future at Carrow Road is already under scrutiny.
Signed to a two-year contract extension in April 2023, Hernandez is tied to the Canaries until June 2025, though the club holds an option to extend the deal by a further year.
| Onel Hernandez’s Norwich City Career Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 208 | 15 | 14 |
His current salary stands at an estimate of £19,600 per week – a £1.01 million-per-year commitment that may begin to look less justifiable given his declining on-pitch influence.
Once a key figure in Norwich’s promotion campaigns, Hernandez’s role has diminished significantly in the current campaign.
He has featured in 21 Championship matches this season, but only five of those have been starts, totaling just 568 minutes of action. With no goals and only three assists, the numbers reflect a player potentially past his peak, and one struggling to make an impact in a competitive squad.
Hernandez’s time at Norwich City ticking down as contract and suspension collide
While Thorup remained open to the idea of Hernandez redeeming himself – stating “you can always fight your way back” – it is difficult to ignore the timing of this disciplinary rift.
With just over a year left on his deal and minimal starting opportunities, the prospect of Hernandez leaving Carrow Road this summer is increasingly plausible, particularly if club leadership opts not to exercise the optional extra year of his contract.
Having spent over seven years in East Anglia and amassed over 200 appearances for Norwich, Hernandez remains a popular figure among the fanbase.
However, sentimentality alone is unlikely to influence decisions at boardroom level – especially under a head coach who has stressed professional standards and accountability as central to the club’s culture.
The coming weeks will be telling. Hernandez must now decide whether to repair the fractured relationship and make a final push to remain relevant in Thorup’s plans, or begin to assess exit routes ahead of a summer that could bring closure to a long and eventful Norwich City chapter.
First start a marker of Ruairi McConville’s City progress
Ruairi McConville’s first Norwich City start was a reflection of his positive progress in recent weeks.
The Northern Ireland international has offered plenty of positive cameos from the bench, albeit in a small sample size, and with City’s defence continuing to leak goals, it felt like a deserved opening for the teenager at Turf Moor.
That said, the manner of his full debut and the quality of opposition he faced made it somewhat of a baptism of fire.
Norwich opted to deploy an entirely new system that hadn’t been exposed to extensive training due to the relentlessness of the Championship schedule, with the trip to Lancashire their third game in six days.
