Norwich City have had to pay more than half a million pounds to players' agents in the past year, it was revealed yesterday. The Canaries were forced to cough up £506,500 - the fourth highest figure of any Championship side.

Norwich City have had to pay more than half a million pounds to players' agents in the past year, it has been revealed.

The Canaries were forced to cough up £506,500 - the fourth highest figure of any Championship side.

In the past six months, City have paid £141,500 to agents for their contribution to nine transfers and new registrations, two updated contracts, five cancelled contracts and two loans.

City chief executive Neil Doncaster, who was recently appointed to the board of the Canaries and the Football League, said the Dean Ashton contract renegotiation last August had accounted for a sizeable chunk of the overall figure.

“This report demonstrates clubs have had to commit a substantial amount of their resources to agents' fees over the past 12 months,” he added.

The figures are revealed in a Football League report covering all 72 member clubs for the period from July last year to last month.

Of the Championship clubs, only Southampton (£575,000), Preston (£534,000) and Leeds (£604,800) paid more to players' representatives.

Ipswich paid £205,242 over the year, and £95,000 in the first six months of this year for 19 transactions, made up of nine new registrations and transfers, five updated contracts, three cancelled contracts and two loans.

Overall, Football League clubs paid £7.66m to agents in the year - two per cent less than the £7.82m committed during 2004/05 - with just over £3.27m spent in the six months between January and June.

During the year the Championship saw 1,212 player transactions, with 210 involving the use of agents - costing clubs a total of £6,311,853.

But things are set to change - new regulations have been put in place which mean players must now pay agents themselves, with dual representation - two agents representing the same player - prohibited.

Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney welcomed the reduction in agents' fees and commended clubs for unanimously endorsing the new regulations.

“It is encouraging that clubs spent £150,000 less on payments to agents than was the case last year,” he said. “I hope the regular, half-yearly publication of these fees has helped.

“Publication certainly has been a catalyst for a wider debate about the role of agents in football. In turn, this has paved the way for the League to introduce new regulations governing how agents' operate. I applaud clubs for their willingness to enter into this debate and for making changes that will deliver greater levels of transparency and integrity to transfer negotiations.

“Two of these changes, in particular, are likely to lead to a reduction in what clubs pay to agents. First, there will be no dual representation - an agent will have to represent either the club or the player. Secondly, agents will no longer be able to pass on to clubs the costs of representing a player.”