Norwich City manager Dean Smith said there should be a "magic number" of COVID-19 cases in a team for a Premier League fixture to be called off.

Norwich were beaten 2-0 at home on Tuesday by Smith's former team Aston Villa shortly after the league agreed new COVID-19 measures following a record 42 cases among players and staff at clubs over the past week.

Manchester United's match at Brentford was the second game postponed this season due to COVID-19 after Tottenham Hotspur's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion was called off last weekend.

"Our sporting director (Stuart Webber) spoke to the Premier League on guidance when we have symptomatic players around us," Smith told reporters.

"We played Tottenham, they had an outbreak. We played United, they had an outbreak. We wanted guidance over would it be fair on Villa if we had symptomatic players around us?

"I'm not saying all our players are symptomatic and have COVID ... Grant Hanley did his shoulder on Saturday and Ozan Kabak went down, so we have injured players, but we probably need a magic number telling us how many is enough."

Smith said he may not have enough fit players for the West Ham United game on Saturday.

"I'll find out over the next 48 hours from the medical staff about our cases. I've seen new Premier League protocols where we are tested every day. The heat is on, not just across football but across the country."

Norwich also face Arsenal and Crystal Palace this month before meeting Leicester City on New Year's Day.

According to a report from The Athletic (Subscription Required), Chelsea are not going to be able to recall Billy Gilmour in January from his loan move to Norwich City.

The Blues have undergone a slight stutter in form in recent weeks. Injuries have been at the epicentre of the blip in results, with the midfield looking at its worst since Thomas Tuchel arrived in January. Jorginho is playing despite a back issue as Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are yet to return to action. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has also had to play several games without a break, while Trevoh Chalobah also picked up a knock while deputising in midfield against Watford.

However, Chelsea who would have had a ready made replacement in the popular young Scottish midfielder Gilmour, will be unable to recall him.  This is because he has now apparently played enough games to prevent a January recall break clause from being activated by his parent club.

Gilmour had a topsy turvy start to life at Carrow Road. He did feature in the opening games before Daniel Farke benched him for two months. It got to a point where Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was starting to get concerned about the lack of game-time for the Scot. However, since Dean Smith has been appointed at the club, the 20-year-old has played every single game, winning the man of the match award on multiple occasions.

The Giallorossi have two priorities for January: a midfielder and a quality substitute full-back to Rick Karsdorp.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Roma continue to pursue Max Aarons of Norwich City for the right flank.

With Bryan Reynolds most likely going out on loan in January, Tiago Pinto wants to secure a reinforcement for Jose Mourinho.

The English right-back is considered a fitting profile and an adequate substitute to Karsdorp whose excessive playing time has impacted the quality of his recent performances.

Aarons’ price-tag is estimated at around €20 million, but Roma are reportedly looking to bring him in on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season.

Norwich City transfer target Keinan Davis "needs to rebuild his career" by heading out on loan, according to BirminghamLive journalist Ashley Preece.

The Aston Villa striker is still awaiting his first senior start of the season having fallen down the pecking order in the Midlands.

What's the latest news involving Davis?

Football Insider claimed last month that Davis is on Norwich's radar ahead of the transfer window reopening for business in January.

The report suggests the Canaries could acquire the 23-year-old's services for as little as £2million when Dean Smith will enjoy the first opportunity to freshen up his squad since being appointed as the Norfolk club's head coach.

It is understood that Norwich are in pole position to sign Davis despite there also being interest from other clubs.

Smith worked with Davis during his time in charge at Villa Park, with the frontman being handed 49 appearances by the Canaries' new chief.

But Davis has been restricted to just 11 minutes of Premier League football this season and he is yet to feature under Villa head coach Steven Gerrard, who was appointed after Smith's sacking last month.

Billy Gilmour has praised the substitute performance that took place during Norwich City's recent 1-0 loss with Manchester United.

It took a 75th-minute penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo for the Red Devils to earn the three points, but the Canaries also had to deal with several injuries throughout the match.

Ben Gibson and Grant Hanley had to be replaced before and during the match due to different issues and the Norwich midfielder was impressed by the performances.

"Those two came in, it was disappointing for Grant getting the injury, but 'Lungi' (Jacob Sorensen) came in and Ozan Kabak was unbelievable," Gilmour said.

"Obviously Grant got the injury and Lungi came in and I thought he was unbelievable, composed and confident on the ball. For him to come in and do that job against Ronaldo and (Marcus) Rashford was unbelievable."

Norwich City remain bottom of the league following the defeat as they sit three points away from safety with Aston Villa their next opponents.

Billy Gilmour has praised the substitute performance that took place during Norwich City's recent 1-0 loss with Manchester United.

It took a 75th-minute penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo for the Red Devils to earn the three points, but the Canaries also had to deal with several injuries throughout the match.

Ben Gibson and Grant Hanley had to be replaced before and during the match due to different issues and the Norwich midfielder was impressed by the performances.

"Those two came in, it was disappointing for Grant getting the injury, but 'Lungi' (Jacob Sorensen) came in and Ozan Kabak was unbelievable," Gilmour said.

"Obviously Grant got the injury and Lungi came in and I thought he was unbelievable, composed and confident on the ball. For him to come in and do that job against Ronaldo and (Marcus) Rashford was unbelievable."

Norwich City remain bottom of the league following the defeat as they sit three points away from safety with Aston Villa their next opponents.

Norwich City transfer target Keinan Davis "needs to rebuild his career" by heading out on loan, according to BirminghamLive journalist Ashley Preece.

The Aston Villa striker is still awaiting his first senior start of the season having fallen down the pecking order in the Midlands.

What's the latest news involving Davis?

Football Insider claimed last month that Davis is on Norwich's radar ahead of the transfer window reopening for business in January.

The report suggests the Canaries could acquire the 23-year-old's services for as little as £2million when Dean Smith will enjoy the first opportunity to freshen up his squad since being appointed as the Norfolk club's head coach.

It is understood that Norwich are in pole position to sign Davis despite there also being interest from other clubs.

Smith worked with Davis during his time in charge at Villa Park, with the frontman being handed 49 appearances by the Canaries' new chief.

But Davis has been restricted to just 11 minutes of Premier League football this season and he is yet to feature under Villa head coach Steven Gerrard, who was appointed after Smith's sacking last month.

Norwich City are set to recall Jordan Hugill from his loan spell at West Brom, with the Baggies ‘in the market for a new forward’, reports The Sun on Sunday (05.12.21, pg. 59).

Hugill, 29, joined West Brom on a season-long loan from Norwich City last summer. The former West Ham striker was tipped to join a number of Championship clubs but it was the Baggies who landed him – though he’s not performed all that well.

In his 17 Championship appearances so far this campaign, Hugill has scored just the one goal.

He’s been a constant source of criticism among Baggies fans and now Alan Nixon reports in this morning’s The Sun on Sunday that parent club Norwich City are set to recall the striker to fill an attacking void in their own squad, amid West Brom’s search for a new striker.Transfer Rumour: Norwich Set To Recall Hugill From West Brom Loan