City have been linked with a January move for Egyptian international defensive midfielder Sam Morsy.

The Daily Mail report on Tuesday afternoon both the Canaries and Championship rivals Derby County are weighing up a potential New Year swoop for the Wigan midfielder, who is poised to feature at the World Cup next summer for his country.

The 26-year-old Wolverhampton-born midfielder has been a key figure in the Latics’ League One promotion push this season under Paul Cook and the Daily Mail claim Wigan would be desperate to keep hold of the combative midfielder but are braced for possible interest from a higher level.

Norwich’s progress under Daniel Farke has halted in recent weeks following the injury absence of Alex Tettey and the longer term unavailability of Louis Thompson in that key holding role.

Morsy certainly would add some bite to the Norwich midfield, with the 26-year-old picking up eight bookings already this campaign in 17 outings.

He failed to make the grade as a youngster at Wolves but has been previously touted with the likes of Cardiff City and West Brom in the past.

Morsy joined Wigan in January 2016, after spells with Port Vale and Chesterfield, but had a loan stint at Barnsley last season - where he featured in the Reds’ 2-1 Championship win over Norwich in December 2016 - but Morsy now appears to have forced his way into Cook’s plans at the DW Stadium.

The Latics’ midfielder also featured in Eygpt’s 1-1 qualifying draw in Ghana earlier this month, which confirmed his country’s place at the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990.