New City boss Bryan Gunn promised that it would be a busy 48 hours for all concerned on the transfer front ahead of Monday night's 5pm deadline and this evening, he was proving as good as his word with reports that the Canaries had signed Celtic striker Chris Killen on loan until the end of the season.
With nothing official emerging from Carrow Road tonight, it was left to a senior source to suggest that this morning's reports north of the border weren't too far wide of the mark. Alebit nothing had yet been signed, sealed or, indeed, delivered.
Whether he will arrive in time to feature against Wolves on Tuesday night appears another moot point.
The regular Kiwi international has barely featured for the Bhoys since switching from Hibs in May 2007.
That he is keen to kick-start his career is not in doubt. He has already had three months on the sidelines this season with a knee injury and last featured in August. Since then he has been left to twiddle his thumbs and wait. And wait. And wait.
“I would be interested in moving away,” the one-time Manchester City youngster told the Daily Record at the start of this month.
“I just want to play football, all the boys at the club are the same. When you're not playing you're not happy so there comes a time when you need to look forward, whether it's a loan or moving on permanently.”
He wouldn't have far to look for a few thoughts on Norwich and Norfolk – John Kennedy is now back at Celtic Park. He, you suspect, would be singing the club's praises after that autumn loan spell.
And even if a switch to the foot of the Championship wasn't quite what Killen had in mind, needs maybe must – on all sides. He needs football; Gunn needs bodies – and goals.
“I would like to go back to the Premiership. I think everybody wants to play there,” said Killen. “That's the level you need to aspire to but at the moment I need to work hard to get back in the Celtic side.”
That particular hope has been frustrated for over a year now as he sees the likes of the Australian Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Shaun Maloney and Cillian Sheridan ahead of him in the pecking order.
The list won't be quite so long at Colney. There's, er, Jamie Cureton… and Arturo Lupoli. And a half-fit Carl Cort.
“Everybody knows how tough it is at a club like Celtic,” added Killen, as he revealed his frustrations to The Record.
“We have the biggest squad in the league and the best players so it's a tall order to get a starting position and nail it down. When we look at the players we have on the bench sometimes it shows how tough it is.
“But things can change so quickly. One week you may not be involved then the next you might be starting. I just need to keep working hard, focusing and taking my chance when it comes.”
That chance now appears to have come south of the border as Gunn and Co hit the phones hard.
And what is increasingly clear is the fact that the Canary boss is pulling every favour he can out of his old ex-Aberdeen pals – as talk continues of Alex McLeish letting his old Dons pal have Gary O'Connor on loan out of Birmingham City in much the same way that Killen's boss Gordon Strachan will be part of Gunn's 'Pittodrie Mafia'.
Gunn admitted last night that his transfer hand had been strengthened by David Bell's ?500,000 exit to the Ricoh Stadium on Friday; now he can start to put certain loan deals in place – be it shoring up his left side in the case of David Carney's arrival from Sheffield United or that of Killen up front.
Or, apparently, O'Connor in the middle of the park.
“It's money into the club which is important,” he said, speaking after last night's 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers.
“And that will help with some of the other deals that we're trying to put into place at this moment.”
At six-foot exactly tall, the Wellington-born striker will at least add some much needed physical presence to the City front-line – and, more importantly, might take some of the pressure off Carl Cort as he continues to fight his way back to match form and fitness after that year-long lay-off with injury.
Last night the 31-year-old got another 45 minutes under his belt, but in their current circumstance the Canaries can ill-afford to wait for the one-time ?7 million signing to find his feet again.
Gunn may have brought many new qualities to the party, but time isn't one of them.
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