Defender Ryan Bennett has been tipped for a 'great future' with Norwich City – by his new skipper.

Top scorer Grant Holt was still at Shrewsbury when he played against Bennett in League Two three seasons ago, and was immediately impressed.

'I've come up against him. I was fortunate to play against him when he was at Grimsby,' said Holt. 'I thought he was a good talent then. He was strong in the air, very vocal for a young boy, which is always good, and you knew he would have a good career.'

Holt, interviewed by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire while watching former club Barrow in action at Cambridge United on Tuesday night, said 22-year-old Bennett was typical of the kind of young player City boss Paul Lambert had recruited.

'That's what the manager does. He tries to get the young boys who are keen and willing to learn and he moulds them,' he said. 'I'm sure if he listens to the manager – he's found it tough in training this week, it's a high tempo – but he's keen to learn, you can see that.

'He talks, he listens and I'm sure he's got a great future ahead of him.

'When he went to Peterborough there were a lot of clubs looking at him. He had to bide his time, he's done well there. You can only go by what the Peterborough fans are saying and they were all happy with him. I'm sure if he turns in the performances for Norwich, the Norwich fans will take to him.'

The Canaries go to Newcastle for Sunday's Premier League fixture, looking for their first win for five weeks after a 1-1 draw at home to bottom club Wigan on Sunday. But Holt said it was still a valuable result.

'You've got to take a point,' he said. 'A point in this division is good. They're not easy to come by. It's another point towards our total.

'You're never happy when you don't win games but we'll look at it as a positive, we've got another point and now we'll roll on to Newcastle.'

Holt scored twice in the 4-2 home win over the Magpies in December but knows they will be keen to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Monday night.

He said: 'It's a big one. They're doing well. It's never easy to go up there when they're not doing well, so it will be a tough ask but we go to any ground with the belief that we can get something.

'We've been to Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and been unlucky not to get anything, but we went to Liverpool and got a point, so we're confident, we're always good on the road.'