Opinion: Wes Hoolahan must not be sold – case closed

January is said to be a notoriously difficult transfer window in which to deal, but you'd hope that the rumoured Aston Villa approach for Wes Hoolahan would have been the easiest one of all to deal with.

No. Go away. Don't come back.

Choose any one of the three, it doesn't matter which. The message should have been loud and clear.

Wes Hoolahan must not be sold.

I have no gripe with Villa's reported offer of £750,000. Yes, it's not enough and yes, you could perhaps believe it to be derisory. But if you are Villa, what would your opening bid be for a 31-year-old player who can't get into a team that is struggling to shake off the worries of being relegated? And don't forget, the assumption might well be that if Hoolahan isn't starting games then the manager doesn't much fancy him.

To look at it from a Norwich perspective you perhaps have to be one of those who admires Hoolahan greatly and believe he should start every game, come rain or shine, in form, or not. And to that end, Hoolahan is priceless.

In a team which is crying out for something a bit different, off the cuff, unpredictable, entertaining, dangerous, sneaky, devious and daring, then Hoolahan is surely, for crying out loud, your man.

This has nothing to do with his longevity at Carrow Road, it is about his ability. Age doesn't look like it wearies Hoolahan; he's a nimble creature, agile, twisty-turny. He could get through a locked door without the aid of a key.

And Paul Lambert knows it.

The message to him should be the one to any prospective buyer. Go away and don't come back.

For more on Wes and his NCFC future, see tomorrow's paper.