City boss Glenn Roeder concluded a busy day in the transfer market this afternoon after rubber-stamping Matty Pattison's full-time switch from Newcastle and adding Chelsea's England Under-19 star Ryan Bertrand to the Canary squad.
Earlier this morning, the Roeder had announced that defender Mo Camara had agreed to extend his loan agreement until the end of the season and in a Colney press conference just moments ago, the City chief revealed that numbers two and three for the day had been brought to Norfolk.
Pattison's switch was the worst kept secret in Norfolk but the move for Bertrand certainly comes out of the blue; the 18-year-old has already spent this season on loan at League One side Oldham Athletic.
All of this still leaves the future of Ched Evans up in the air. The Wales Under-21 striker was due to discuss his short-term plans with Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson this afternoon and it is sure to be a busy couple of weeks for Roeder and Co.
“We have been following Ryan at Oldham and we've been very impressed,” Roeder told the official site.
“We believe he can step up to the Championship and help us to pick up as many points as we can.”
“I'm really looking forward to playing for such a big club as Norwich City,” Bertrand added.
“I knew Norwich had been looking at me over the last month or so and once I heard they wanted me having only come back from my loan at Oldham yesterday, then I was straight up here.
“It's brilliant to get a chance to play here and I see it as the next stage of my career.”
Bertrand has now made a number of appearances in the Chelsea reserve squad and has already had three spells on loan along with earning an England Under-19 cap.
The defender joined Bournemouth in November 2006, making 6 appearances for the Cherries before returning to Stamford Bridge. He then returned to the south coast for a further month in January 2007.
This season saw Bertrand join the Latics in August and go on to make 22 appearances before his loan spell ended this week but Oldham boss Sheridan had earlier admitted that he tried desperately hard to keep him at Boundary Park.
“I've made it clear I'd like to keep him (and Neil Kilkenny) because they're excellent footballers. There's interest in both players and I'd love to keep them because they're my sort of lads,” Sheridan told the Oldham Advertiser.
But with speculation that Chelsea wanted him to continue his football education at a higher level, Roeder pounced to get his man.
Pattison joins for an undisclosed fee on a three and-a-half year contract after a successful loan spell in Norfolk.
The South African midfieder joined the Newcastle Academy at the age of 14 and signed a new contract with the Magpies in December 2005 but was deemed surplus to requirements under new boss Sam Allardyce.
He made his first team debut as a substitute against Everton in February 2006, after being given his chance by then Newcastle boss Roeder and the City chief has wasted no time in tying the combative Pattison to Carrow Road after his impressive performances in the heart of the Canary midfield.
Tom Haylett
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