CHRIS WISE The player's agent Willie McKay revealed yesterday that the 22-year-old Celtic stopper now saw his future north of the border - and was about to be offered a new contract by the Scottish Premier Division champions.

CHRIS WISE

Norwich City's bid to bring keeper David Marshall back to Carrow Road on a permanent basis appears to have ended in failure. The player's agent Willie McKay revealed yesterday that the 22-year-old Celtic stopper now saw his future north of the border - and was about to be offered a new contract by the Scottish Premier Division champions.

Only last week Marshall spoke of his desire to rejoin the Canaries following a brief loan spell that saw him turn in some impressive performances, before injury brought his season to a premature close. But now he seems to have had a change of heart, with McKay commenting: “He has a year of his contract still to run and Celtic are ready to offer him a new deal.”

City boss Peter Grant has kept a close eye on Marshall since he returned north after picking up an injury during the early stages of City's FA Cup defeat at Chelsea in February, and reportedly had a £500,000 bid for the player rejected last month.

When Marshall tabled a transfer request it seemed as though City still had a good chance of getting their man, especially when he said: “Norwich have high hopes of moving up to the highest level so I'd obviously be interested in going back.”

His agent now appears to have other ideas, with Marshall apparently content to stay at Celtic and battle for a first team place.

Celtic paid £100,000 to Inverness CT for Mark Brown in January as cover for Artur Boruc at the same time as they farmed out Marshall. The Scot was, at the time, assured of his long-term future at Celtic Park, with manager Gordon Strachan saying he wanted him to gain more first-team experience.

As it stands, Paul Gallacher remains first choice keeper at Carrow Road, with Joe Lewis providing the back-up and fellow youngster Steven Arnold also on the books. But it would be a surprise if it stayed that way, with Grant replacing Gallacher with no fewer than four different loan keepers last season.