Norwich will soon be receiving a £¼m cheque in the post from Wigan as part of the deal which took Damien Francis north last summer. Francis went to the JJB Stadium for a fee of around £1.5m in a transfer that included a clause that City would be guaranteed a further £250,000 if Wigan managed to avoid relegation.

Norwich will soon be receiving a £¼m cheque in the post from Wigan as part of the deal which took Damien Francis north last summer.

Francis _ who left Carrow Road in somewhat acrimonious circumstances - went to the JJB Stadium for a fee of around £1.5m in a transfer that included a clause that City would be guaranteed a further £250,000 if Wigan managed to avoid relegation.

The odds were initially stacked against them, but manager Paul Jewell's team have defied the odds, not only reaching the Carling Cup final but also challenging for a place in Europe at one time, and although that challenge is virtually over, their current eighth position is the best of the three teams who won promotion last season.

Ironically, Francis, having started the campaign, has fallen out of favour and hasn't started a match since the end of January.

City chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “We can confirm we will be receiving the additional money from Wigan as part of the Damien Francis deal. The money has already been factored into the budgets for next season.”