CHRIS LAKEY Peter Grant will confine his transfer dealings to the United Kingdom as he contemplates the “nightmare scenario” of the January transfer window. The Canaries boss has been linked with a number of players north of the border and says City are not in a position to go shopping on the continent - just yet.

CHRIS LAKEY

Peter Grant will confine his transfer dealings to the United Kingdom as he contemplates the “nightmare scenario” of the January transfer window.

The Canaries boss has been linked with a number of players north of the border and says City are not in a position to go shopping on the continent - just yet.

“I would try as much as possible to stay in the UK, then you don't have all the problems that go along with people that have probably never played in the UK before,” said Grant.

“Plus there is the settling in and all the different things that come into football. I know football is worldwide, but there is a different culture. People think coming into the Championship it will be a nice, easy league to go into but they find after five minutes that is not the way it is.

“I have seen it so often with teams trying that, and it has not worked for them. That is not down to the player because a lot of things go into settling down at a new club. It is a fantastic facility and a fantastic place here in Norwich, so that's fine. But the actual culture and the tempo of games and the amount of games they have to play - can they constantly do that?

“Some of them find that very, very difficult. Jurgen Colin will say that for the first year he just couldn't feel his legs. He had come in from Dutch football where they play the ball about and take their time and he said every game he felt no legs at the end and he found it very, very difficult - and that's coming from Dutch football where you'd think it wouldn't be hard to settle.

“He found that difficult, but I can say that about the Italians that came to Celtic while I was there. They found it very, very difficult. The tempo of the game, even in Scotland, was a massive jump from Serie A.

“There are a million things you have to take into consideration so I am thinking we are maybe not good enough to be at that stage now

to start bringing in players from a different country, to give them time to settle, because we don't have time to settle.

“We're trying to do well at the present - further down the line maybe it will be a bit more different then.”

Business is predicted to be brisk, but Grant says the indications are that it will be fraught with danger.

“It is incredible dealing with managers, unbelievable,” he said. “I knew it would be difficult. They are so scared to let somebody go and not have somebody to refill it, that's a problem you have, and I am talking about someone who is maybe not in the top 20 players at the club.

“They are still not willing to take that chance until they see somebody in the door. That is the problem for the so-called smaller clubs right through the leagues. You either have to focus on one individual, and that is a big chance you're taking. So you have so many balls to balance. Somebody might have given you the nod already and then within 10 minutes you get a call saying it won't happen.

“It is an nightmare scenario, but every other manager is saying the same thing. Everybody is in the same boat, there is a frustration because they all want to do it.”