Norwich given green light for Hughton talks

Norwich have been granted permission to speak to Birmingham's Chris Hughton over the managerial vacancy at Carrow Road.

Norwich asked Birmingham for the go-ahead to talk to the former Newcastle boss, which was "reluctantly" given by officials at St Andrew's.

The Birmingham acting chairman, Peter Pannu, said: "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."

With the Canaries' deputy chairman, Michael Foulger, saying he was hopeful an announcement on the managerial situation at Carrow Road could take place in as little as 48 hours, Hughton seems the clear favourite.

The 53-year-old took over at Birmingham following their relegation from the Premier League. Despite player sales and financial constraints, he guided them to the play-off semi-finals, where they lost to Blackpool.

He served as assistant to Martin Jol at Tottenham before leading Newcastle back to the Premier League in 2009-10, only to be sacked the following season with the club safely in mid-table.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa will unveil Lambert as their new manager at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

The 42-year-old Scot resigned from Carrow Road last week after being denied permission to talk to the Midlands club. Although Norwich refused to accept his resignation, they admitted on Friday that the search for a new boss was under way.

Lambert, who took Norwich into the Premier League via back-to-back promotions from League One, was confirmed as the Villa manager on Saturday.

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