Stoke City have set their sights on appointing the Norwich first-team coach Narcís Pelach as their manager after being granted permission to hold talks with the Spaniard about succeeding the sacked Steven Schumacher.

Pelach joined Norwich as part of David Wagner’s staff last year and was retained by Johannes Hoff Thorup, who was appointed in May. Pelach previously worked with West Brom’s head coach, Carlos Corberán, at Huddersfield Town, where he twice took interim charge. The 36-year-old has also worked as an assistant at La Liga side Girona.

Pelach previously outlined his coaching principles while at Norwich by expressing his desire for his teams to dominate. “We want to be the main team and go for the game,” Pelach said. “We want to play with an arrogance and we don’t want to be fearing or scared opponents.”

Schumacher, who joined Stoke from Plymouth last December, was under contract until 2027 but leaves after 32 matches. The former Stoke forward Jon Walters, the technical director, is leading the search for Schumacher’s successor. Pelach could become Stoke’s sixth permanent manager in five years.

Alex Morris and Ryan Shawcross will take caretaker charge against Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday but Stoke hope to have Pelach in place for Friday’s game against Hull.

Schumacher’s departure comes after 1-0 loss at Oxford that left Stoke 13th after two wins and three defeats from their opening five matches.

Schumacher joined the club from Plymouth Argyle in December 2023, replacing Alex Neil, and steered the team to Championship safety with a 17th-placed finish last season.

Walters told the club website: “After ongoing discussions with [the chairman] John Coates, we feel the time is right for a change in direction to bring success to the club. We have a young, dynamic squad that is eager to develop and a clear vision of how to achieve success, and we hope to announce a new appointment shortly.”