The Lower Tiers can exclusively reveal that Championship Side West Bromwich Albion have held talks with sign out-of-favour Norwich City centre back Shane Duffy, who is expected to depart the club ahead of today’s 7pm deadline. There is also a club from Turkey interested, with the Turkish transfer window closing later this month on the 12th of September.
The 33-year-old Irishman was one of a quartet of senior first team players told by Liam Manning that they can leave the club this summer, with George Long, who has joined Southampton on loan, Brad Hills, who has returned to Stockport County on a permanent deal, and Anis Ben Slimane, who is also expected to depart today.
Shane Duffy is out-of-favour at Carrow Road, despite starting all but one of the Canaries’ championship games last season under Johannes Hoff Thorup and eventually Jack Wilshere, as Liam Manning finalises his squad ahead of tonight’s deadline.
It is also understood that Oscar Schwartau could be set for a loan move away from the club in pursuit of more gametime, having signed last summer from Danish side Brøndby IF, and a loan move for a Premier League winger could be back on the cards after multiple names were looked at earlier in the transfer window before signing Lincoln City’s Javon Makama.
Versatile left-sided player Samuel Iling-Junior of Aston Villa is set for a move to the Baggies, and he would have been a perfect fit for Norwich, with multiple championship sides having been interested in the England under-21 international this summer. It is unclear whether the Canaries was one of the interested sides, with Papa Amadou Diallo and Jeffrey Schlupp, who is getting on now, being the only two options for Liam Manning’s hybrid left-wing-back/ left-wing role, which would have perfectly suited Iling-Junior.
The Baggies have had a frantic end to the transfer window, with Krystian Bielik, Toby Collyer, Chris Mepham, and Alfie Gilchrist all having signed while Torbjoern Heggem, Darnell Furlong, Tom Fellows and Caleb Taylor all having recently departed within the part two and a half weeks.
Shane Duffy’s Career so far
After starting out at Everton, Duffy found consistent gametime at Blackburn Rovers, joining the club in 2014 after a season on loan at Yeovil Town. He went on to make 69 appearances during his near 2-year stay at Ewood Park, scoring seven goals. However, he left Rovers as a controversial figure, having scored two own goals and then getting sent off in his final game for the club, a 2-1 defeat away at Cardiff City in August 2016. This has led to Shane Duffy being given stick by Blackburn fans whenever teams play against him.
A move to Brighton and Hove Albion followed, where he spent six and a half years at the club, making 150 appearances for the seagulls, scoring nine goals. Shane Duffy also had a loan move to Celtic in this period too, playing 27 games and scoring three goals.
Following a brief spell at Fulham in the 2022/2023 season, where he played a handful of games, he joined Norwich in the summer of 2023, under David Wagner. Shane Duffy helped the club to a 6th place finish in his first season, which was ended by a 4-0 hammering at Elland Road in the play-offs against Leeds United. The club failed to reach those heights the following season, as the club finished 13th.
Final Words
With West Brom having recently signed two centre backs in Krystian Bielik and Chris Mepham, a deal to the midlands side may not be as likely now, but Shane Duffy was certainly an option at the time at least, but this is one that could go past tonight’s deadline with overseas interest. A permanent or loan move could both be on the cards, with Norwich’s main priority being getting Duffy’s and Anis Ben Slimane’s wages off the wage bill. It could be a mostly quiet deadline day for sporting director Ben Knapper, with a few minor departures and possibly a loan signing, the latter which isn’t guaranteed at this point. Stay tuned…
