Bournemouth head coach Gary O'Neil has praised departing defender Jack Stacey after he signed a deal to join Norwich City this summer.

The right-back spent four years at the Vitality Stadium with the Cherries - including nine months under O'Neil after his initial interim appointment in August 2022 - before leaving at the end of his contract this summer.

He'll officially become a Canaries player on July 1, but will be wished well by his former colleagues, as the former City midfielder attested.

“An incredible guy," he said of Stacey. "To have to just play the small part that he has recently and to still be how he is around the group and to still be how he is in training.

"I’ve never seen a second from him where he hasn’t been 100 per cent professional, 100 per cent committed, 100 per cent putting the group above himself.

“There are always people that don’t play as much as they would like. Sometimes they go under the radar, the impact that you can have on the group still when you’re not playing."

Stacey played just 13 times for Bournemouth last season, starting three Premier League games. He played a key role in their 2022 promotion, however, making 25 appearances as they finished second in the Championship.

He also starred for Luton Town as they won promotion from League One in their 2018-19 promotion season, and has wracked up 290 appearances across his career.

But O'Neil, who played for Norwich between 2014 and 2016, praised the 27-year-old's reaction to a lack of game time when speaking to the Daily Echo.

"You have a choice at that moment," he said, "whether you are disruptive and you put yourself first or whether you decide ‘no, I’m going to make sure that I do all I can from the position I’m in to make sure I help this group be successful’.

“You’ll never catch me saying a bad word about Jack Stacey.

“I think he’s an incredible professional.”