City boss Peter Grant has admitted striker Jamie Cureton is his kind of player as he bids to find new attacking firepower for the Coca-Cola Championship campaign.

City boss Peter Grant has admitted striker Jamie Cureton is his kind of player as he bids to find new attacking firepower for the Coca-Cola Championship campaign.

That could be good news for Colchester's 31-year-old ex-Canary, who yesterday issued a “come and get me” message to his former club.

Grant has made no secret of his desire to add a proven goalscorer to his squad after relying heavily on 19-goal Robert Earnshaw last season.

The Canaries were today understood to be having talks with £2m-rated Scunthorpe hot-shot Billy Sharp and have made tentative inquiries about Southend's Freddy Eastwood, though Wolves appear to be favourites to land the former West Ham trainee.

But Cureton, who has asked for a transfer at Layer Road, would be likely to cost a good deal less than either Sharp or Eastwood after the U's slapped a £750,000 price tag on his head.

Asked whether Cureton had figured in his thoughts, Grant said: “For sure. There's no doubt that he's a top-quality player - one that's obviously very close in my way of thinking.

“I always liked him when I played against him after coming to England. He is one of those guys you always have to be careful of.

“I didn't realise he had asked for a move because I had been away. I knew he was under contract to Colchester which means they will put a certain value on him.”

The playing careers of Cureton and Grant did not overlap at Carrow Road. Cureton moved to Bristol Rovers in 1996 for £250,000 after scoring six times in 32 senior appearances for City. Grant's two-year playing stint with Norwich started in 1997.

But Cureton, the Championship's top scorer last season with 23 goals, said yesterday he would relish another chance with the club where he began his career.

He said: “If Norwich are interested I would obviously be keen talk to them, definitely. It's all down to Colchester and Norwich and whether or not they can do business.

“I have always said Norwich would be my preference because it is where I started as a kid and I owe them a lot and at the same time I probably did not do myself justice in the first team. If given the opportunity I would like to have another crack and do things differently.”