Norwich City deal with Man City worth £1m will go down in Carrow Road folklore: View | OneFootball

The £1m Norwich paid Man City for striker Darren Huckerby in 2003 turned out to be an absolute bargain for the Carrow Road club.

Striker Darren Huckerby starred for a few clubs throughout his 16-year career, and Norwich City certainly got more than their money's worth when they brought the pacy forward to Carrow Road from Manchester City in 2003.

Huckerby began his career with fourth-tier Lincoln City in 1993, with Imps manager Keith Alexander soon giving the youngster his professional debut.

Quickly impressing with his direct running, speed, and goal threat, top-flight side Newcastle United took a chance by taking the youngster to St James' Park in 1995.

The Nottingham-born forward never really got going on Tyneside, however, and following a brief loan spell with Millwall, joined Gordon Strachan's Coventry City ahead of their 1996/97 top-flight campaign.

Starring alongside the likes of Dion Dublin, Noel Whelan, and Gary McAllister, Huckerby thrived with the Sky Blues, becoming an integral part of a City side that competed well in the Premier League, regularly upsetting the bigger clubs at their Highfield Road home.

In the three years Huckerby spent with the Midlands club, the striker, whose electric pace and ability to run with the ball was a constant headache for opponents, scored 30 times in just over 100 appearances, before being sold to Leeds United in 1999 for a fee rising to around £5.5m.

The forward found it difficult to dislodge the likes of Mark Viduka and Alan Smith in the Leeds side, however, and struggled to make an impact at Elland Road, ultimately departing for Manchester City after 18 months in West Yorkshire.

Huckerby was prolific at Maine Road. Despite City being relegated from the top-flight in his first season with the club, he helped them bounce back as Championship title winners the following campaign. Overall, the striker scored 31 times in 82 games for City before spending profitable loan spells with Nottingham Forest and Norwich City, respectively, in 2003.

His time with the Canaries at the beginning of the 03/04 second-tier campaign was particularly enjoyable, with the Norfolk club signing Huckerby permanently after his three-month loan agreement had expired.

Modest fee turned out to be phenomenal business for the Canaries

It's thought that Norwich paid a total of £1m to take the 27-year-old to Carrow Road permanently in December 2003.

Huckerby helped his teammates to promotion to the Premier League in his first season with the club, winning the First Division's (now Championship) PFA Fans Player of the Year award in the process.

While his Norwich side bounced between the top two divisions during his time with the club, on a personal level, Huckerby really excelled in a yellow and green shirt.

The dynamic attacker made over 200 appearances, scoring 48 times in the process, while assisting his colleagues on 26 occasions, too.

These efforts saw Huckerby earn the club's Player of the Year prize in both 2004/05 and 2006/07, while he was also inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in 2006.

Aged 32, and after five years with Norwich, Huckerby departed for the United States, joining MLS side San Jose Earthquakes for the 2008/09 campaign.

The forward did well in his one season in California, but was forced to retire at the relatively young age of 33 due to persistent injury troubles.

Striker is one of Norwich's best signings this century

The Canaries have spent a large portion of this century towards the top end of the second-tier or in the Premier League.

As a consequence, there have been some notable signings in that time, with some great servants and talented players donning the famous yellow and green.

While many have made huge contributions, the likes of Grant Holt and Gary Doherty among them, and others have made the club a tidy profit, defender Ben Godfrey joining from York City for £150k in 2016 before departing for Everton for over "20m four years later, Huckerby's overall impact was on a different level.

Helping his side to promotion, becoming their main goal threat and a great ambassador for the club, the comparatively small fee City paid for the striker, Huckerby is a modern Norwich legend, even coaching the junior sides since retiring.

It was a fantastic bit of business by Nigel Worthington at the time, with Huckerby remaining a huge favourite in Norfolk to this day. For the £1m Norwich paid Man City in 2003, he was a real bargain who went down in club folklore.