Alex Neil will decide Kyle Lafferty's Norwich City future after the Northern Irishman made it clear over the latest international break he may have to move on to spearhead his country's Euro 2016 quest next summer.

Lafferty plundered seven goals in nine qualifying appearances to fire Michael O'Neill's squad to a historic first appearance at the finals in France. Neil, however, has used the 28-year-old sparingly in his Premier League plans since recovering from a pre-season knee injury, but the Scot insists Lafferty knows where he stands under him at Carrow Road.

'Kyle knows exactly the situation he is in at the minute. There are no surprises there,' said Neil. 'I have spoken to Kyle and all the players and come January if I believe maybe he is better suited elsewhere then I will sit down with him and listen to where he feels his future lies. We will have that chat but potentially he could have broken into the team by then. It really depends what happens between now and then and a lot of that will determine what way we go.

'Like anybody, players want to play and if they are not then maybe they are willing to look elsewhere, but I have to make sure I am looking after the best interests of Norwich City. If it means I need to keep him here to look after those then that will be the case.'

Lafferty admitted last week it would be a wrench to leave the Canaries.

'Norwich and the fans have been brilliant with me and I'd be sad to leave,' he said. 'But I've got to think about myself, my family, my career. If it is time to leave I'll take the opportunity. There's no point in me sitting in the stands or playing for 15 minutes when there's a massive tournament coming. I think I'll give it until January then sit down with the manager.'