Michael Bailey Manager Glenn Roeder will be waiting by the phone this afternoon as he hopes to add one new face to his side for the Canaries match against Leicester City tomorrow afternoon.

Michael Bailey

Manager Glenn Roeder will be waiting by the phone this afternoon as he hopes to add one new face to his side for the Canaries match against Leicester City tomorrow afternoon.

Roeder and the player's club have come to an agreement on a loan deal for the unnamed star having spoken yesterday, and the player is set to decide today on whether he'll to come to Carrow Road.

Any deal would need to be registered by 5pm today for the players to be eligible for tomorrow's fixture.

“I'm waiting on a two o'clock phone call today to see if we've got a lad on loan and get him signed in time for tomorrow,” said Roeder. “The club are certainly happy for him to come here. It's just this modern day footballer that needs 24 hours to think over a move; why, I don't know.

“That drives you nuts that they can't make a decision straight away. But we will see at two o'clock and I'm hopeful that he will agree to join us and I think he will be a good loan signing as well. We'll just have to wait until that phone call comes in and we'll be able to sign him in time to at least be on the bench tomorrow.”

The January transfer window is proving the tough nut Roeder expected to crack.

Roeder said: “It's difficult, which I knew it would be, from the experience of last year. It's the most difficult window to trade in. It's much easier in the summer, apart from the obvious thing - the length of time in the summer before you start playing games. But it's a question of clubs trying to hold onto their players. Even getting them on loan is proving difficult.”

However, letting players leave Carrow Road is proving much easier for the Canaries boss, with midfielder Ian Murray the latest of former boss Peter Grant's signings to have his contract terminated and the Scottish midfielder has rejoined SPL side Hibernian on a short term deal.

However, the lack of players available is making this window a tricky one for Roeder to operate in.

“It's an overheated market,” he said. “It always is in January. The seller knows that, not that you are desperate, but that you need players. Whether you are a club trying to get into the play-offs, in a position to be automatically promoted or you're fighting for your lives at the bottom end of the table. They know that you need these players and of course that drives the price up because there's not enough quality to go around.

“I could sign what I would consider poor players for this Club every day of the week, but there isn't any point in that. It makes back page news for one night, and then when supporters see them play it makes the other kind of news that you don't want.”

And despite all of Roeder's current dealings involving Premier League players, the former Newcastle boss is keeping his eyes on talent in the country's lower divisions.

“We've looked at a few players in the lower divisions but they would be permanent moves in the summer time,” said Roeder. “They are at clubs that would possibly go up so they're not going to be wanting to sell their best players. And generally speaking they can quite easily hold onto their best players until the summer. When the summer comes, the amount of money for these smaller clubs if they don't achieve promotion, they have to sell.

“There are a couple of players in League One we particularly like but there's nothing doing. Both clubs are in a position to be promoted so we've just got to sit tight on that one and wait for the summer. I know it's not only us interested in these players.

“The loan ones are much more easy - well, not easy, nothing is easy - but Premiership squads are bigger. Generally speaking if there are one or two players who haven't figured too much or fallen out with the manager, they're more inclined to let them go out on loan so at least they're in the shop window and get some football.”