Norwich City set to seal Aston Villa transfer agreement following West Brom exit | OneFootball

Winger Lewis Dobbin is set to join Norwich City on loan from Aston Villa

Norwich City are set to sign Aston Villa's Lewis Dobbin on loan for the remainder of the 2024/25 Championship campaign after the winger's loan spell with West Bromwich Albion was cut short.

That's according to a recent report from The Athletic, where it has been revealed that Dobbin is poised to complete a loan switch to Carrow Road following a tricky half-season stay with the Baggies.

Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup will be keen to strengthen his squad this month amid a mixed start to life in Norfolk, and Norwich could still make a late push for play-off contention if they get it right in January.

The Canaries were busy in the summer and they're now on the verge of making the first of what supporters will hope to be multiple signings in the form of Dobbin, who is closing in on a loan arrival at the club.

The 21-year-old forward joined Villa in a £10 million deal from Everton back in the summer.

Dobbin promptly headed out on loan to West Brom but found game time hard to come by, as he played just 325 minutes of football across 17 appearances before being recalled by the Premier League side.

Dobbin started just once for the Baggies and failed to open his account for either goals or assists in limited minutes, meaning a recall always felt likely heading into January.

He was left out of Albion's matchday squad for their 3-1 New Year's Day home win over Preston North End, before joint-caretaker boss Chris Brunt confirmed that the two clubs had come to an agreement to terminate the loan.

"Villa have asked to call him back," Brunt told BBC Radio WM. "He's not played as much as they would have wanted for a loan player coming out of a Premier League club. We will just have to roll with it and move on."

Villa will now hope opportunities are more forthcoming for Dobbin at Norwich. According to BBC Sport, Dobbin has already visited Norwich's Colney training ground and a deal could be concluded in the next 24 hours, though it's not yet clear if the former Derby County loan man will be in contention to feature in Saturday's home clash against Coventry City.

Aston Villa's Lewis Dobbin won't be replacing Liverpool's Kaide Gordon at Norwich City

Although Dobbin would appear to represent a natural potential replacement for Liverpool loanee Kaide Gordon, who has struggled for both form and regular action this term, reports have claimed that his impending arrival isn't going to affect anything on that front.

Gordon has started just once for Norwich this term, scoring one goal from nine matches. However, as per an update from journalist Samuel Seaman, the signing of Dobbin isn't going to affect Gordon's loan from Liverpool.

Instead, Dobbin is reportedly viewed as a replacement for Christian Fassnacht, who recently left Norwich to return to Swiss side Young Boys.