Norwich City hopes of bringing in an attacking midfielder from a 'huge' club were dashed in the January transfer window.

The Canaries recruited Jonas Gutierrez and Joseph Yobo on short-term loan deals but David McNally revealed yesterday they had also targeted a creative midfielder on loan in a bid to address City's chronic goal output.

'We were very close to bringing in a creative midfielder,' he said. 'We were in the market for a number 10 or someone to play just off a striker and we were very close to taking someone on loan from a huge club. What it needed was for one of their targets to come in and then it would have happened, until the end of the season. It would have made a huge difference in that area but the good news is Jon [Howson] is close to being back with us after injury and he is someone we have missed who has played in that part of the pitch and we have missed him. Of course Wes [Hoolahan] is also back in the fold so we have two players now available that were not at the start of January, although Jonny might take a while fitness-wise to get fully up to speed.'

Hughton believes both Gutierrez and Yobo's experience will prove vital over the rest of the season.

'Those two were crucial reinforcements,' he said. 'Joseph has played 95 times for Nigeria and Jonas 22 times for Argentina and bringing them in on a short-term basis, knowing the character of these men is first class, was better for us than investing in a four-year contract on someone of less quality. That was the judgment we made.

'Having been in the game many years now, January is about short-term measures to ensure the squad is complemented rather than a wholesale re-shaping of the staff. '