It wasn't the most glamorous of ties pulled out the hat but when Norwich City were paired with Brentford in the Carabao Cup immediate thoughts turned to a reunion with Sergi Canos.

One or two PR types will have mentioned it being the 'LeoVegas derby' but many City fans were thinking about a chance to see how the Spaniard was developing at Griffin Park.

Unfortunately that opportunity has been taken away with Canos sidelined with an ankle injury that has seen him make just one start for Dean Smith's side so far this season.

City fans could be forgiven for not remembering the former Barcelona starlet…he was barely given a chance by the Canaries after arriving in the summer of 2016 for a reported fee of around £4.5m.

MORE: Sergi Canos is finding his feet again at BrentfordHe made just five senior appearances for the Canaries as then manager Alex Neil struggled to know what to do with a player who found his path to the first team blocked by Jacob Murphy's burgeoning talent.

The truth is James Maddison's City career was going the same way until Neil's departure.

Here was another promising player, bought for a lot of money, but seldom used.

Norwich cut their losses on Canos as soon as they could last January as he returned to Brentford, where he had made an impression the season before whilst on loan from Liverpool.

Maddison rejected a loan move back to Aberdeen to try and prove his worth at City.

A similar parting of the ways this summer may have followed suit had Neil remained – we'll never know.

The frustration is that had sporting director Stuart Webber and head coach Daniel Farke got their claws into Canos then he would be part of the first team picture at Carrow Road, just as Maddison is.

MORE: No regrets for Canos after cutting ties with Norwich CityCanos showed in the second half of last season that there is a player in there as he notched four goals in 18 appearances for Brentford.

City fans could see there was promise yet Neil never seemed to forgive the 20-year-old for a listless performance in a 3-0 defeat at Birmingham – his only senior start in the league during his time at Carrow Road.

The Canaries will at least be spared the ignominy of Canos 'coming back to haunt his former club' on Tuesday evening but it won't stop some wondering what might have been had he stuck it to become part of the brave new world at Carrow Road.