‘Real bargain’ – Darren Huckerby on free agent after £3.5m move from Coventry City to Norwich.
Coventry City news from CoventryLive as former Sky Blues favourite Darren Huckerby gives his take on Sam McCallum’s release by Norwich.
Darren Huckerby insists whoever picks up former Coventry City defender Sam McCallum this summer will be getting a ‘real bargain’ following the player’s release by Norwich.
The 23-year-old full-back was sold to the Canaries in the January transfer window of 2020 for a deal that could reach £3.5million based on the player’s success and immediately loaned back for he remainder of the season. McCallum, whom City had plucked from non-league obscurity, then returned for a season-long loan for the duration of 2020/21, making 41 Championship appearances and scoring one goal.
On his return to Carrow Road he was again farmed out as part of his development, and spent a season at QPR, albeit his progress set back by a hamstring tear, for which he required surgery that kept him out for several months, limiting his appearances to just 19 games.
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He then made 25 showings for Norwich in 2022/23 and 34 last term, including substitute appearances in the play-off semi-finals against Leeds United as he spent most of last season as second choice to Dimitris Giannoulis.
Former Sky Blues favourite Huckerby is a regular at Carrow Road where he ended his English playing career. Asked about McCallum’s progress and why he thinks the player has been let go by Norwich – who missed out on promotion this season after being knocked out by Leeds in the play-off semi-finals – the 48-year-old told CoventryLive: “I thought he did pretty well towards the end of his time at Norwich. When he first arrived he was just a young lad and then he was in and out when they were in the Premier League. And then he had Giannoulis ahead of him, but I thought that when he played he held his own, and his release is probably more about him playing regular first team football than not being wanted as such.”
