Daniel Farke admitted the chances of Adam Idah being allowed to leave Norwich City on loan took a major hit, following his starring hat-trick role in a 4-2 FA Cup third round win at Preston.
The 18-year-old grabbed his chance in stunning fashion with injuries to Teemu Pukki, Dennis Srbeny and Josip Drmic handing him an unlikely cup start.
But Idah struck inside three minutes then rifled home a 35-yard lob, before a coolly taken penalty after the interval in a huge statement of intent from the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.
City’s original plan was for Idah to gain some loan experience lower down the Football League tree this month, but Farke joked he might need to come up with a different plan.
“Maybe I send Teemu Pukki out on loan,” he said. “There is no need for an emergency situation. We are in the driving seat. If he is scoring goals for us we won’t be loaning out our best players. He has a long term contract so there is no urgency on our part.
“It will be a bit difficult to keep him a secret now. That is for sure. He deserves to be in the spotlight a bit.
“We back young players as a club but there are no gifts. They only come to the pitch when they are ready.
“Okay, we had a few injuries but Adam is prepared to deliver and he grabbed his chance with both hands. Not just his goals, but how he kept the ball and linked the play and worked for the team.”
