Norwich City will always want to forget £8.5m Everton transfer - Alex Neil got it wrong | OneFootball

The Canaries’ £8.5 million capture of Steven Naismith has to go down as one of their most expensive flops.

Over the last decade, Norwich City have been a side who have floated between the top two divisions of English football.

The East Anglian outfit have been a part of six Premier League seasons since 2011, tasting four promotions as well as an equal number of relegations under the likes of Paul Lambert, Alex Neil and Daniel Farke.

The Canaries enter their fourth season outside of the Premier League, the longest in that time period, and have former Bristol City boss Liam Manning in the hotseat to help transform their fortunes after a few seasons of disappointment.

During their fluctuating periods between the Championship and Premier League, Norwich City spent a whopping £8.5 million on striker Steven Naismith from Everton during the January transfer window of 2016, hoping he would provide enough ammunition at the top end of the pitch to help the club retain its top-flight status.

Linking up with fellow Scot Alex Neil, the then-Norwich boss outlined how confident he was that the frontman would be a success from his time at Goodison Park, but he would be left with egg on his face as the now 38-year-old had a dismal time in yellow and green.

Steven Naismith’s disastrous Norwich City spell

Steven Naismith arrived at Carrow Road off the back of netting 19 top-flight goals across four seasons at Goodison Park, a respectable tally given his minutes were quite scattered for the majority of his stay.

While his goalscoring record didn’t exactly suggest it was worth such a huge investment from Norwich, then-boss Alex Neil defended the decision and backed his compatriot to be a roaring success.

Speaking to the club website at the time, Neil said: "We are delighted to conclude this deal and bring Steven to the club.

"He's a proven performer at Premier League level and an established international with Scotland so arrives with excellent pedigree."

While there was optimism around the Naismith signing, the forward failed to get the Canaries faithful jumping out of their seats many times, as he struggled to make a name for himself at Carrow Road.

The Scottish international scored one goal in 13 appearances for the remainder of the 2015-16 season as they suffered relegation back down to the Championship.

Naismith then scored just five goals in 29 Championship appearances the following season, as they struggled to adapt to life back in the second tier and missed out on a place in the play-offs.

Failing to establish himself as a marksman for the club, Naismith would be loaned out to Hearts by Daniel Farke after featuring only twice under the German, before completing a permanent move to the Scottish outfit on a free transfer.

Steven Naismith goes down as one of Norwich City’s most expensive flops

It was the last throw of the dice for Norwich in the 2015-16 campaign, with an investment of £8.5 million a serious indication of the hierarchy’s desire to stay in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, it was spent on a player who just couldn’t produce the goods when it mattered most, with an inability to find the back of the net on a consistent basis a key reason as to why the Canaries couldn’t push for survival.

Despite a shaky opening season, you would have imagined Naismith would have been able to thrive in the Championship, but another low return summed up his stint, with the frontman unable to generate any positive momentum for himself at the club no matter who was managing the team.

Ultimately, it was a spell that just didn’t work out for either party, with the club failing to get any return on such a hefty investment at the time.

Everybody connected to the club will still be reeling from that decision, as an alternative addition could have been the difference between establishing themselves as Premier League regulars.