England Under-21s boss Stuart Pearce has paid a glowing tribute to Paul Lambert and Norwich City.

Pearce says Henri Lansbury's loan at Carrow Road is a marriage made in heaven – and that he would recommend a spell under Lambert's guidance to any of the rising international stars under his wing.

'100pc yes,' said Pearce yesterday. 'I don't think there would be anyone in my under-21s squad who asked me about going out on loan that I would put off going to Norwich.

'It has got a fantastic fan base, a great training ground, a good manager – it has got everything. And they have got a reputation for playing football, so it has a reputation right across the board – it ticks all the boxes for me.

'And obviously they are a team that are doing particularly well. They're not a struggling side. Over the last two or three years they have done extremely well, the manager is creating a name for himself, so everything is right to be honest for any player to come from a Premiership club or even a fellow Championship club to go out on loan there.'

Lansbury, who has worked his way through the young England ranks to become a regular in Pearce's Under-21 squad, has made two appearances for City since joining on a 28-day emergency loan from Arsenal, with one national newspaper claiming yesterday that Lambert was preparing to ask Arsene Wenger for an extension.

Lambert has enthused over his performances, describing him as outstanding in the weekend win at Derby. Pearce agrees.

'I think Norwich have got an extremely good footballer, an intelligent footballer,' he said. 'A lot of the players pass through my squad and in my care and I am acutely aware that certain individuals need to go out on loan at certain times in their career.

'Henri was certainly in that category and to go to Norwich and to work with Paul I think is a fantastic opportunity for him, let alone the club getting Henri to come and contribute to their push for promotion.

'He is a good player – he can play off of either flank, and he can play behind a striker. He has a reputation with our younger age groups of having an eye for a goal and can obviously pick a pass as well. I think it is a really good match, Henri going to Norwich.'

Lansbury's game clearly bears the stamp of Arsenal – his pass for Grant Holt's second goal in the derby win over Ipswich on his debut was still being talked about by Lambert a week later

'In some ways you might say the way Arsenal play is total football – they do play slightly differently to most teams in this country,' said Pearce. 'I have watched Henri play on three or four occasions for Arsenal reserves this season and the reserves play the same way as the first team do, as you would expect. The experience for him to go away and play in a slightly different way is like when we pick him for the under-21s - we don't play like Arsenal do, so it is a good experience for him all round.

'His character is very good. I think he knows what he wants in life. He's a nice kid and he has been as good as gold around the place, but he wants to play football, and he will speak his mind in some respects, which is good.'

Pearce has good memories of Carrow Road and is looking forward to returning with the Under-21s.

'We've been there on three occasions and the infrastructure there for under-21 football is fantastic,' he said. 'Whilst we like to go and visit as many clubs as we possibly can, there are certain grounds and certain communities we know support us and Norwich are up there on the A list for us.'