Norwich City's impressive midfielder Leroy Fer has admitted his first few months in England have toughened him up after revealing it felt like a form of 'depression'.

Fer has been a revelation for the Canaries, scoring four goals in 21 appearances since a summer move from FC Twente and forcing his way back into Holland's squad for their final World Cup qualifiers as the Dutch cruised into next summer's finals in Brazil. The 23-year-old saw a proposed January 2013 move to City's Premier League rivals Everton collapse and also suffered European Under-21 heartache for his country in the summer, but Fer is now loving life in Norfolk after Norwich made their move during the close season.

'It has become a good year after all,' Fer told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. 'I know exactly when I first heard about the interest of Norwich City. I was on the bus in Israel. We had an undeserved loss in the semi-finals of the European Championship against Italy. I had to cry. It was deathly quiet on the bus. Then my father called. Norwich City wanted to do business right away.

'I already knew I had to leave Enschede. Everton were also interested but they first had to sell (Marouane) Fellaini. With the transfer from Feyenoord to FC Twente I already knew how tough it was if you have to wait for a deal. The first months (in England) were very tough. Call it a form of depression. It has made me stronger and wiser. If you add and subtract everything, 2013 has become a good year. At least it has made me stronger.'