Norwich City will hope that new arrival can replicate Leicester City, Coventry City, Sunderland success: View | OneFootball

Norwich City are set to sign Callum Doyle on loan from Manchester City - and the Carrow Road faithful should be excited given his record

Highlights

Norwich City are poised to complete the signing of Callum Doyle on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

According to a recent reveal from BBC Sport reporter Nick Mashiter, both clubs are satisfied with the agreement that has been struck for Doyle, who appears set to be unveiled as a Norwich player imminently. The central defender is said to be impressed with the plans of new Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorrup after visiting the club's training ground earlier in the month.

Norwich will reportedly be paying a loan fee as part of the deal, which doesn't include a purchase option for Doyle. Should the move go through successfully, he will represent Norwich's second summer signing after the arrival of defender Jose Cordoba from Bulgarian outfit Levski Sofia.

Callum Doyle's career to date

Despite still being just 20 years of age, Doyle already possesses a plethora of experience across the English Football League. His first taste of the rigours of the professional game arrived with Sunderland in the 2021/22 campaign, where he made 44 appearances across all competitions as the Mackems gained a long-awaited Championship promotion via the League One play-offs.

After making a significant impression at the Stadium of Light, Doyle subsequently joined Coventry City the following season and established himself as an ever present in Mark Robins' backline by making 44 second-tier appearances. During Doyle's time in the West Midlands, the Sky Blues made it all the way to the Championship play-off final before falling agonisingly short at the hands of Luton Town on penalties.

Akin to many Coventry players that year, Doyle emerged from the season with an enhanced reputation and earned a third loan move away from Manchester to link up with ex-City coach Enzo Maresca at Leicester City in the aftermath of their surprising relegation from the Premier League.

It was, of course, much less of a surprise when the Foxes romped to the second-tier title at the end of last season, securing a return to the top-flight at the very first time of asking despite encountering some late bumps in the road amid fierce competition from Leeds United and Ipswich Town.

Doyle had a somewhat less-involved role in proceedings as his season was cut short by a knee injury that saw him miss 20 of Leicester's 46 league matches, although he did catch the eye when fully fit. Doyle still managed to feature on 17 occasions for Maresca's side, representing a strong pedigree for Norwich ahead of their own ambitions of challenging for promotion come August.

Norwich City

Norwich's recent play-off bid won't be fondly remembered at Carrow Road, with a chastening 4-0 defeat to Leeds in the second leg of last term's series denying them a place on Wembley Way and ultimately concluding David Wagner's divisive tenure with the club. They'll be scarred from that, no doubt, but the foundations for a fresh attempt do appear in place under new boss Hoff Thorup.

Doyle, who has achieved both automatic and play-off promotion in his short but successful career to date, clearly has crucial know-how that could come up trumps in Norfolk next term. While it would be undermining to Sunderland, Coventry and Leicester to name Doyle as the sole reason for their achievements, it's also no coincidence that every club he's been at has gone on to become successful very quickly.

Besides his promotion pedigree, Doyle is a fine player who has the natural composure in possession and ball-playing qualities that you would typically expect from a product of the Man City academy, while he's just as capable at left back as he is centrally, having featured there at times for Leicester last term.

Versatility is invariably crucial in the Championship where injuries, inconsistency and fatigue all come into action across the unforgiving slog of a 46-game campaign, and his positional flexibility is just another reason for Canaries fans to be excited about acquiring the two-time promotion winning prospect.