In what promises to be a frantic few days at Carrow Road, City boss Bryan Gunn today completed another piece of his transfer jigsaw by wrapping up the signing of Stephen Hughes on a three-year deal.
After the player's agent revealed that the former Rangers, Leicester and Motherwell man was Norfolk-bound, it was a matter of when and not if but today's news will still come as a huge boost.
The fact that the out-of-contract midfielder was being chased by clubs from the SPL, Championship and the Bundesliga in Germany shows that Norwich City still holds plenty of appeal.
His former boss at Fir Park, Mark McGhee, had showed a keen interest in taking the 26-year-old to his new club Aberdeen, but Hughes has opted for League One and a new career at Carrow Road.
“We're delighted Stephen has chosen to join Norwich City,” Gunn told the club's official website. “He had a number of options open to him and rightly spoke to his family and friends before making his decision.
“We faced stiff competition from clubs in the Championship, Scottish Premier League and also the Bundesliga.
“I met with Stephen when we were up in St Andrews last week and had dinner with him. I told him our plans and how we see him fitting into them.
“He knows the set-up we've got here from playing here with Leicester City. Once again the lure of playing in front of a full-house at Carrow Road has been a big factor in us landing a player and we need to thank our fans for that.”
Today's news looks set to be part of a busy week of comings and goings in Norfolk and with Simon Whaley all-but signed and sealed and reports tonight of a Canary bid being accepted for Crystal Palace left-back Rhoys Wiggins, the 2009/10 squad is starting to take shape.
The Croydon Advertiser quoted Neil Warnock confirming that they had accepted a compensation offer for the out-of-contract former Wales Under-21 defender and that he was due in Norwich for talks.
Elsewhere, the name of Shrewsbury's League Two goal machine Grant Holt refuses to go away with messageboard 'insiders' continuing to insist he will sign on the dotted line within days.
On the outgoing front, Sammy Clingan's exit looks set to be confirmed soon after Gunn admitted that Coventry's offer had been accepted and the Northern Irishman had agreed personal terms.
However, Darel Russell's possible switch to Premier League new-boys Burnley seems to be less clear cut.
“We did receive a bid from Burnley last week for Darel which we rejected, and we're currently waiting for them to get back in touch with us, so the ball is in their court.”
One thing is 99% sure though…there will be more new faces in the coming days.
“That is something we are working on intensely,” Gunn continued. “I'm delighted many of the targets we've gone for have come through and there's a couple of others pending that we hope to announce in the coming days.”
Tom Haylett
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