Youssef Safri will continue to be part of Peter Grant's pre-season plans, despite the transfer speculation surrounding the Canaries midfielder. Safri has been linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion, with Charlton and Southampton also said to be interested.

Youssef Safri will continue to be part of Peter Grant's pre-season plans, despite the transfer speculation surrounding the Canaries midfielder.

Safri has been linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion, with Charlton and Southampton also said to be interested.

But City boss Grant says that until he hears differently, Safri is part of his plans.

The Moroccan returned to training a day earlier this week, having been given an extended summer holiday after his international commitments.

And Grant said he had shown enough on the Colney training pitches to ensure he is considered for the first pre-season match of the summer, at Exeter on Saturday.

“He is here and he is training and I have always said anybody that is here and is training and gives their all could be selected,” said Grant, who said he had heard no official word on a bid for Safri.

“To me he has trained very well and is part of the group and if he wasn't going to be part of the group he wouldn't be involved in it.

“So, as far as I am led to believe, Saff is going to be part of the group and unless I get a phone call that something I don't know about it is going to happen quickly, who knows?”

The speculation coming out of the west Midlands was that West Brom were close to completing a deal to take Safri to The Hawthorns, although manager Tony Mowbray is now being linked with Felipe Teixeira of Portuguese side Academica.

“He (Safri) says there has been no contact,” said Grant, who admitted that recent events had made him sceptical.

“I know the way football works - I didn't expect Earnie (Robert Earnshaw) to go. That is why laugh about it. I was listening to Dave Jones last week and he said (Michael) Chopra was not for sale, but everybody has got a price, and all of a sudden Sunderland are in. That is the nature of the beast.

“If I turn round and say, 'Saff is definitely here, he is not going anywhere', I don't know, because that is the way it is. I can say that about anybody, I can say that about Huckerby, I can say that about David Marshall, about anybody.”