More hard times for former Portsmouth and Burnley keeper - 17 months after unforgettable League One title success

You’ve got to feel for former Pompey goalkeeper and hero Will Norris.

This time last year, the 32-year-old was still the Blues’ No1 after playing a pivotal role in their historic 2023-24 League One title success.

Yes, there had been a few bumps along the road for a player named in the L1 team of the season as John Mousinho’s side struggled to adjust to the Championship after 12 years away.

Meanwhile, pressure was being applied by the imposing figure of Nicolas Schmid on the sidelines, following his summer move from BW Linz.

The Blues’ 6-1 hammering at Stoke on October 2, 2024, though, proved to be a crucial turning point. The former Barnsley and Peterborough United man was immmediately axed from the starting XI and then shown the exit in the January transfer window as Pompey severed all ties with the stopper.

Indeed, Norris never played again for the Blues after that defeat against the Potters, leaving the club with 56 appearances to his name.

Pompey’s ruthlessness freed up a move to Wycombe Wanderers, where the keeper played every minute of every game over the second half of their season - until the final game of the campaign against Charlton in their play-off semi-final.

Yet the former Pompey favourite hasn’t appeared in the league since for Wanderers - putting his long-term future at Adams Park in serious doubt.

Will Norris’ time at Wycombe has quickly turned sour

Penning a contract until the summer of 2026, Norris will have been forgiven for thinking the next 18 months of his career was in safe hands when he made the free-transfer switch to Wanderers.

His stats at the end of the season backed that up, too, with the keeper keeping 10 clean sheets in 19 appearances.

However, a couple of errors - including a costly one against the Addicks in April - caused enough doubt to prompt the League One side to sign another new goalkeeper in this summer’s transfer window.

Wycombe sign Dutchman to be No1

Twenty-one-year-old Dutchman Mikki van Sas is who Wycombe turned to shore up the last line of their defence, with the keeper arriving for an undisclosed fee from Feyenoord on a three-year deal.

And from the moment he arrived at the end of June, it was made known the former Manchester City ace would be installed as the Chairboys’ first choice.

Manager Mike Dodds stuck to his word on that, with van Sas featuring in every Wycombe league game until his dismissal on September 18.

He also got the nod to start new manager Michael Duff’s first game in charge against Northampton last weekend, leaving Norris rooted to the bench and limited to outings in the League Cup and EFL Trophy.

Those outings amount to four Wycombe appearances this season - ensuring the latter stages of Norris’ career has sadly been stuck in reverse ever since he enjoyed the highs of helping Pompey to a memorable promotion back to the Championship.

For your next Pompey read: Portsmouth predicted XI and bench v Ipswich Town: Key changes expected with star man set to miss out