Adam Drury is to be offered a new contract at Carrow Road as manager Peter Grant seeks to keep the bulk of his squad intact for a promotion challenge.

Adam Drury is to be offered a new contract at Carrow Road as manager Peter Grant seeks to keep the bulk of his squad intact for a promotion challenge.

The City skipper's contract expires at the end of the current season, although the club have a one-year option, but Grant says he wants to tie up matters with Drury and a number of other players to avoid a tricky summer looking for replacements.

City have 13 players out of contract in the summer, although they have options on Drury plus the four youngsters who signed one-year deals at the end of last season - Andrew Cave-Brown, Matthew Halliday, Robert Eagle and Andrew Fisk.

Grant has already said he wants to offer Darren Huckerby a deal to stay at Norwich, but that still leaves negotiations with those whose deals run out - Matthieu Louis-Jean, Craig Fleming, Peter Thorne, Dion Dublin, Ian Henderson, Gary Doherty and Joe Lewis.

“I spoke to Hucks, because that situation was on-going,” said Grant. “There are a couple of other ones I have to look at and that is important for them because I am not one who likes things to run out.”

Grant will be mindful of the fact that City are in the final year of parachute payments - and the financial gulf between Championship and Premiership football.

“I know there is a downfall next year because of the loss of money, but I want to keep the group together and make sure we can add to it and get better,” he said. “I don't want to be losing my best players and I think that is important for them.

“I don't want players running out of their contracts and I'm left with no players and scraping the bottom of the barrel to bring new ones in. We want to keep a solidity about the club and build it and that's what I am trying to do - build it and move us forward and if we get to the Premier League hopefully bring other players in as well on top so you have a squad of players capable of holding their own in the Premier League.”

Drury has retained the captain's armband under Grant, although the manager says he expects there to be more than one voice on the pitch.

“Some people say he is not vociferous, he's not this, he's not that,” said Grant. “But I am looking for 11 captains on the field at all times. Just because you have a band on your arm doesn't make you the only captain on the field.”