Norwich City boss Bryan Gunn accepts he may have a fight on his hands to hold on to star forward Wes Hoolahan, admitting: 'Money talks.' The 27-year-old Irishman took a leading role again as the Canaries beat Wigan 3-2 in their final warm-up match and performances like that could yet attract interest before the end of August.

Norwich City boss Bryan Gunn accepts he may have a fight on his hands to hold on to star forward Wes Hoolahan, admitting: “Money talks.”

The 27-year-old Irishman took a leading role again as the Canaries beat Wigan 3-2 in their final warm-up match and performances like that could yet attract interest before the end of August.

“Yes, I've got worries about hanging on to him,” said Gunn. “Wes is a quality player but his commitment has been to Norwich City and I think you've seen throughout pre-season that any time he's taken the pitch he's performed well and I hope he'll continue to do that for Norwich City.

“We understand that money talks. Up until now there's not been any interest, so that's down to other clubs to create that. But certainly we won't be encouraging it.”

Hoolahan was signed from Blackpool by former boss Glenn Roeder in the summer of 2008 in the wake of Darren Huckerby's departure and his absence from the final seven matches of last season was a major blow to City's Championship survival hopes.

He has been linked with Crystal Palace, but Gunn hopes he will play a key role in City's bid to regain Championship status.

He said: “He could be a very important player for us in League One. He remembers back to League One himself with Blackpool. I think he was player of the season and people like Wes will help us get out of League One more quickly if we hang on to them.”