Norwich City goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely provided boss Alex Neil with a glowing character reference for his latest signing.

Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu was a team-mate of Keily's at West Bromwich Albion for six years – and the pair are reunited after the 28-year-old agreed to move to Carrow Road only July 1 when his current contract at The Hawthorns expires.

'Dean worked with him at West Brom and said he's a great lad, good in the changing room and that there certainly won't be any issues,' Neil told the club's website.

'That's one of the most important things for me because you're only as good as your team spirit.

'We have to make sure we get the right type of player who isn't going to take away from what we have built up here.

'He's a complete team player and you can see that in the way he plays, so he'll be a good fit for us. We're really pleased to sign him and I think he'll add to the squad.'

Mulumbu, who came through the youth system at French giants Paris St Germain and is a DR Congo international, will follow another former Baggies team-mate, Graham Dorrans, through the door at Colney as City's second summer signing.

Neil says the deal represents good value for the Canaries.

'We knew he was going to be on a free transfer, and certainly with a team going up you've got to work smart in trying to recruit the right players,' said the Canaries boss. 'The fact that we've managed to get him on a free means it was, for me, an absolute no-brainer.

'We've been looking (at potential transfers) since I came in, it was an ongoing process throughout last season but the main focus was obviously to try and win games and get us promoted.

'The real work started once we found out what league we were in. We then started to focus on the players that we'd had a look at, and Youssouf was one of those players.'