Norwich City transfer agreement with Leeds United was an absolute disaster - he lasted just 16 games | OneFootball

Luciano Becchio was a very popular Leeds United frontman, but he couldn't provide the goals in the Premier League for Norwich City

In the early 2010s, Norwich City had a knack for taking Leeds United's best players, with the lure of the Premier League proving enough for a move to Carrow Road.

Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson and Bradley Johnson were all notable names who moved from Elland Road to Carrow Road and enjoyed successful spells at Norwich, but the same couldn't be said for Luciano Becchio.

Whilst many Leeds fans look at the time spent dwelling in the Championship's mid-table and even in League One as disastrous, it allowed for the emergence of unknown Argentinian forward Becchio to become a bit of a cult hero in West Yorkshire, netting in the double digits in each of his four full seasons at the club and being a staple of the side that earned promotion out of the third tier in 2010.

Midway through the 2012/13 season, the then-29-year-old had contributed 20 goals in just 26 Championship appearances, and a Premier League bow was more than overdue.

Norwich City brought him to Carrow Road on a three-and-a-half-year deal, but he failed to make an impact, and his time at the Canaries was forgettable at best.

Luciano Becchio's little impact at Norwich City

Norwich City had the third-worst goal return through 24 games in the 2012/13 Premier League season, and thus turned to Leeds United to once again bring in one of their top players.

Free-scoring Luciano Becchio, who had already netted 20 times in all competitions that season for the Whites, joined on a three-and-a-half-year contract, with Steve Morison heading the other way.

Morison's time at Leeds was incredibly underwhelming, but it was nothing compared to how minimal Becchio's impact was at Carrow Road.

Becchio was never really given much of a chance to make a name for himself in the Premier League, with his two sole starts coming in his first three games. After that, he was reduced to an unused substitute, and cameos between five and ten minutes if he did play.

The Argentinian spent the following season at Norwich, but again failed to start a single game, including in domestic cup competitions, and was an unused substitute 19 times in the Canaries' Premier League campaign, which ended in relegation.

The 2014/15 campaign saw Becchio sent out on loan back out to Yorkshire, as he joined Rotherham United, and he did score twice in his five games for the Millers, but his loan was cut short after he broke his ankle.

Norwich and Becchio would then agree to mutually terminate his contract in 2015, despite there still being a year left on his deal, meaning that his time at the club ended in just 16 appearances, with not a single goal to his name.

Luciano Becchio could never return to his goalscoring best after leaving Leeds United

Becchio's departure from Elland Road was contributed in part by a falling out between him and the then-manager Neil Warnock, but many will be wondering what would have happened if he hadn't made the move to Norwich, as the Argentinian never really got back to his best following the move.

Becchio played just a handful more times in his career before he announced his retirement in 2023 for the likes of Rotherham once more, Belgrano and Athletico Baleares.

At 29, you could never really begrudge the striker for wanting to test himself in the Premier League for the first time in his career, but it proved to be a truly calamitous move for him and a waste of money for Norwich City.