Nathan Redmond can be Norwich City's wild card this season, according to fellow midfielder Gary O'Neil.

The England Under-21 wide player was a key figure in the club's Championship promotion success, with a series of assists and goals, capped by his Wembley strike. Redmond was also named in the Uefa team-of-the-tournament at this summer's European U21 Championships despite a disappointing group exit for the Young Lions and O'Neil is predicting the 21-year-old will flourish in the top flight.

The former QPR midfielder however, wants to keep the pressure off the young flyer ahead of inevitable parallels with the likes of his former England youth team-mate Raheem Sterling, who joined Manchester City in a reported £49m move earlier this summer.

'You can see the comparisons because they are a similar type of player. Obviously Raheem has operated at a much higher level but he has the potential,' said O'Neil. 'Nathan is so quick, he can beat a man, his final ball and delivery is getting better all the time and he has a manager who will work with him and develop him all the time.

'Plus he is at a great club, so hopefully we can have a good year and we can thrive.'

O'Neil captained the Canaries in the midweek 1-0 friendly defeat against one of his old club's, West Ham.

'As a performance it wasn't bad, and it was a good test,' he said. 'We wanted to win the game but did quite well and missed a few good chances while we were in control. They made a lot of substitutions on the hour-mark, and changed their shape a little bit.

'It made it more difficult for us over the last half-hour. We didn't want to lose, so it's just a shame we didn't capitalise when we were on top in the game.'

The experienced midfielder is hoping to maintain a proud top flight record ahead of the new Premier League.

'Of the four promotions I've had, the only one where I didn't stay on was QPR, and I've never been relegated straight back down. Hopefully that can continue,' he told the club's official site. 'It's been a great pre-season for me because I've managed to stay fit and be involved in every session.' Pre-season is tough because you're reliant on the people in charge, so it's important they get the load right.'