• Birmingham 'reluctantly' let manager speak to Norwich
• Chris Hughton keen to secure Carrow Road appointment
Chris Hughton hopes to be confirmed as the new manager of Norwich City by the end of the week, having held talks over succeeding Paul Lambert at Carrow Road.
On the day Lambert was unveiled as Aston Villa's new manager, the Birmingham City manager was "reluctantly" granted permission on Wednesday to meet Norwich officials, who identified the 53-year-old as their preferred candidate and could conclude their search by Thursday. Norwich would have to pay a £1m compensation fee to secure Hughton's release from a rolling one-year contract at St Andrew's, a sum that would rise should he then bring members of his Birmingham back-room team, such as his assistant Colin Calderwood and the first team coach Paul Trollope, with him.
Hughton has also been approached by West Bromwich Albion since Birmingham's attempt to return to the Premier League was halted in the play-off semi-finals by Blackpool. The former Newcastle United manager guided Birmingham to fourth place in the Championship last season amid serious financial difficulties and is keen on resuming his career in the top flight. A Birmingham statement confirmed: "Hughton expressed a wish to speak to the Canaries and permission was reluctantly granted."
Birmingham's acting chairman, Peter Pannu, added: "Chris is a great manager and deserves the opportunity to speak to Norwich, which is why we have granted him permission to speak to them."
Albion's interest in Hughton has cooled but they too hope to appoint a new manager this week. The former Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick, who has held several meetings with Albion since Roy Hodgson left to become England manager, has promised a decision on his future is imminent. Rangnick's agent, Oliver Mintzlaff, said: "West Bromwich Albion gave us time for consideration. An offer was made and we will meet up this week for a final decision." Read More
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