Gaffer plays the big, blank look card as the latest name is thrown his way…

Another hour, another name.

For while there may yet be a little in Norwich's chase of the lad from Linfield – the potential fly in the ointment there being Iain Dowie's interest in bringing the boy to QPR – our Glenn was giving it the full blank looks once Arturo Lupoli's name was thrown his way at Emerald Park this evening.

The 21-year-old one-time Arsenal and Derby starlet was reported to have been the subject of an official bid from the Canaries – or so said the Fiorentina website tonight. Apparently.

Gaffer's response?

“Who?”

“Arturo Lupoli… guy who used to play for Arsenal…

“Who did he used to play for..?

“Arsenal and Derby… No? News to you…

“That probably answers your question…”

For those of old Ferret's cynical age, the use of the word 'probably' can cover many a sin. And the lad is an interesting one – he would, it appears, have found reverse gear since being snaffled up by Arsene Wenger as a 17-year-old on the back of his record-breaking goal-scoring feats as a teenager.

Decent record for the Gunners at Youth and ressie level, but never quite cracked the first team; loaned out at the Rams he scored seven times for the Rams in 34 appearances before heading home to Tuscany last summer having signed a five-year deal with Fiorentina.

For whom he has still to play a game. Last season he was farmed out into Serie B with Treviso FBC – for whom he has yet to score a goal.

So given the crowd that gathers every time anyone spots a decent player in this country, plucking someone like Lupoli out of the relative obscurity of Serie B has a touch of Roeder class to it; he would have had the full run-down on the kid's potential from his big pal Arsene.

Why it's all gone a bit Pete Tong of late; what it might need to fire the lad back into life.

The Gaffer knows his Europe; he was hot on the heels of Valencia's African midfielder 'Sunny' last January, so – if the right player comes up – he won't be afraid of going all continental.

As for the in-demand Peter Thompson, poor old Stockport's hopes of whipping the boy across the water for ?100,000 might be going out of the window as one or two of the bigger boys come a-sniffing at the eleventh hour.

Interestingly, he was kept on the bench for tonight's UEFA Champions League qualifier at Windsor Park which the Irish League champions lost 2-0 to Dynamo Zagreb of Croatia.

Or rather he was on the bench till the 76th minute when he arrived to a huge ovation from the Linfield faithful who know he's on his way. The club's management committee were due to meet after the game to discuss Thompson's future; Dowie's Northern Ireland connections – that and all his Formula One money – could be the stumbling block as far as Norwich are concerned.

Either way, word was that it is going to be a busy fortnight. Very busy.