Leon Barnett joins Norwich on loan
Thursday 26th August 2010, 11:15AM BST.
Defender Leon Barnett has moved closer to ending his Albion career after joining Championship side Norwich on loan until January.
The 24-year-old has moved to Carrow Road for five months, potentially leaving him with just half a season at the Hawthorns before his contract expires and he becomes a free agent.
Norwich have moved after injuries to their central defenders Michael Nelson and Zak Whitbread.
Barnett joined the Baggies from Luton in July 2007 for an initial fee of £2.5million and has since made 55 league and cup appearances, including five as a substitute, netting three goals in the process.
But the centre-back has fallen down the pecking order at the Hawthorns after a difficult season in the Premier League two years ago.
Barnett played for Albion in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory at Leyton Orient in the Carling Cup but the arrival of Gabriel Tamas and Pablo Ibanez have left Barnett’s first-team prospects in the Premier League looking even more bleak.
The 6ft 1in defender joined Coventry on loan last season and made 20 appearances for the Sky Blues, including one as a substitute, but the departure of manager Chris Coleman ended his hopes of a permanent move to the Ricoh Arena.
Canaries boss Paul Lambert, who led the East Anglian club back to the Championship last season, has now moved to strengthen his backline.
He said: “With Michael being out for a few weeks, we felt it was the right thing to bring someone in to strengthen in that area and Leon was someone we tried to bring in last year.
“He’s a quality player who has played Premier League football, as well as having solid experience at Championship level.”
As the deal is a standard loan, there is no recall clause for the Baggies.
UK Sport
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