Norwich City: 2010 Everton transfer agreement was well worth pursuing - View | OneFootball

One goalkeeper became a Canaries icon after his signing from Everton

Back in the summer of 2010, Norwich City found themselves in need of a new goalkeeper.

The previous campaign had been a successful one for the Canaries, as they won promotion from League One back to the Championship at the first attempt.

However, their first choice goalkeeper for that memorable 2009/10 campaign, Fraser Forster, had only been on loan at Carrow Road from Newcastle United.

But with the goalkeeper moving on for the following season, that left Norwich with a void between the posts that needed to be filled.

That is something they would move to do, by completing a deal with another Premier League side in the form of Everton.

Canaries raided Goodison Park for a new goalkeeper

In July 2010, the club announced the signing of John Ruddy from Everton an undisclosed fee, which was later revealed to be around £250,000.

Arguably, this is a deal that could have been something of a risk for Norwich. Ruddy had only ever made one league appearance for the Toffees, and had never played in the Championship before.

Instead, his career had been spent operating in League One and League Two, as well as a campaign on loan at Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership prior to his move to Carrow Road.

Yet despite all that, the move to bring Ruddy to East Anglia, turned out to be something of a masterstroke for Norwich City.

John Ruddy was an excellent signing for Norwich

In their new goalkeeper, the Canaries secured an excellent servant, and hugely reliable option between the posts.

Not only was he excellent at his own job, but Ruddy's presence and communication skills also made him a key leader for the defence in front of him.

In his first season with the club, he missed just one league game all season, as Norwich finished second in the Championship to make it back to back promotions to the Premier League.

As the Canaries returned to the top-flight for the 2011/12 campaign, Ruddy again missed just one league game, his form helping the club to a more than respectable 12th place finish.

It was at that point that the goalkeeper started to earn recognition on an international level as well, being named in England's squad for Euro 2012 that summer.

Unfortunately for Ruddy, a broken finger prevented him from taking part in the tournament, although he would still win his one and only senior England cap later that year.

The 2012/13 season was a more frustrating one for the goalkeeper, whose game time was limited by injury, though he still played to help Norwich retain their top-flight status for another year.

In 2013/14, Ruddy firmly re-established himself between the posts for the Canaries, playing every league game, although the season ended with the disappointment of relegation.

Even so, the goalkeeper was reportedly the subject of interest from a number of Premier League clubs in the summer of 2014.

That in turn, highlighted the quality he himself still possessed, despite the disappointment of the previous campaign.

Despite that, Ruddy remained with Norwich, and was once again an ever-present during the 2014/15 campaign.

It was a season that would prove to be another memorable one for the Canaries, as they again won promotion to the Premier League, this time through the play-offs.

Having played every game, Ruddy played a major part in that, and remained at Carrow Road for two more years.

He remained a regular, but not ever present in that time, and was unable to prevent an immediate relegation during the 2015/16 season.

Even so, his individual performances remained consistently solid for Norwich, before he was released at the end of his contract in the summer of 2017.

But having by that point won two Championship promotions, a Player's Player of the Season award, and made 242 appearances in all competitions over seven years, there can be no doubt that by that point, Ruddy had all already established himself as a Canaries legend.