Shane Duffy secures footballing lifeline with move to top Championship club

Rory Fleming

The Derry defender is set to link up with a number of Irish teammates at the promotion chasing club.

Republic of Ireland centre half Shane Duffy has secured a footballing lifeline, as he seeks to put an end to a torrid three-year spell at club level and regain his place in Stephen Kenny’s national team squad.

Signing for promotion hopefuls Norwich City on a three-year deal, the Derry native is set to link up with Ireland teammates Andrew Omobamidele and Adam Idah at Carrow Road.

The Canaries are famed for the Championship promotion record, securing three promotions back to the Premier League since 2016 alone.

Duffy endured a torrid time at Craven Cottage last season, failing to make a single league start. (Credit: Getty Images)

Having surprisingly finished in the lowly position of 13th in last season’s Championship, seven points off the play-off spots and a staggering 29 points off automatic promotion, David Wagner’s side are looking to build a side capable of returning the club to English football’s top flight.

Wagner himself has previous experience with guiding sides to the promised land of Premier League football, having managed to gain promotion with Huddersfield Town back in 2017.

For Duffy, he will be hoping the move pans out better than his two previous ill-fated loan moves away from Brighton’s Amex Stadium.

A move to Celtic Park to play under Neil Lennon proved an unmitigated disaster, as Duffy made just 18 appearances over the course of the season as fierce rivals Rangers claimed a first league title in over a decade, breaking the Hoops domestic monopoly.

Welcome to Norwich City, @shaneduffy 💪

The Republic of Ireland international has signed for the club on a three-year deal, effective from July 1 🇮🇪

— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) June 9, 2023

His loan move to newly-promoted Fulham went even worse for the 55-time-capped international, as he failed to make a single Premier League start over the course of the season, appearing just five times off the bench for a total of 18 minutes.

Having been left out of recent Ireland squads, an unthinkable scenario just a number of seasons ago, manager Stephen Kenny recently remarked that Duffy had “a lot to consider” regarding his club career.

And it appears the experienced central defender has come to the conclusion that The Canaries are his best chance at salvaging his once burgeoning international career.

Speaking about the transfer down a division, Duffy told the Norwich City website that;

“The ambition is to get back to the Premier League… I’m 31 now and haven’t played much over the last year, so I feel fresh and ready to go and am excited for the Championship season which is hectic. I can’t wait to get going”.

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