Norwich City must seriously regret transfer miss - Preston North End are laughing loudest now | OneFootball

Lewis Dobbin signed on loan for Preston North End this summer, having spent time with Norwich City last season

Lewis Dobbin spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan with Norwich City, having spent the first half of the campaign on loan with West Brom. The Englishman would head out on loan once again this season to the Championship with Preston North End, where he is thriving.

Following their most recent 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers, in what was their first home win of the season, Norwich City are hoping to get their season back on track.

Liam Manning's appointment from Bristol City in the summer went far from plan, with the English head coach having been dismissed after 17 games in charge, failing to pick up a single point at home during the course of his brief tenure.

Now under former Monaco and Rangers boss Philippe Clement, Canaries fans will be desperately hoping for an upturn in results in the coming weeks as they look to climb out of the relegation zone, currently sitting in 23rd place, with only crisis-club Sheffield Wednesday beneath them at this stage.

Belgian boss Clement has taken charge of three games with Norwich thus far, winning one, drawing one, and losing one; in each of those fixtures, he chose to deploy a 4-2-3-1 shape, steering away from the 3-4-3 shape often used under Manning.

With the amount of injuries in forward areas to the likes of Ante Crnac, Jeffrey Schlupp, Papa Diallo, the Canaries could desperately do with some quality in wide areas, and may regret not returning to a player they had on loan only last season.

Lewis Dobbin spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan with Norwich, having spent the first half at The Hawthorns with West Brom.

The 22-year-old spent the bulk of his youth career in the academy of Everton and had his first taste of regular senior football in the 2022/23 season on loan with Derby County, before joining Aston Villa in the summer of 2024.

His loan to the Baggies didn't go to plan, starting just once before being recalled in January and sent back out on loan to Norwich, where he enjoyed a bit more success, scoring twice in ten outings before a calf injury in March kept him out for the remainder of the season.

Despite his relatively brief spell in Norfolk, Dobbin was complimentary about his time with Norwich, with the forward saying, "I can't praise Norwich enough to be fair. They were great with me. I loved every minute there.

"I was really gutted when I did pick up that injury but I felt like I was just getting into my stride and getting fully fit there. It was unlucky but, like I said, that club was amazing with me and I've got nothing but high praise for them."

Following the dismissal of Johannes Hoff Thorup, Dobbin would not return to Carrow Road this summer, instead joining Paul Heckingbottom's Preston North End, where he has found some serious form.

Norwich City may regret not returning to a deal for Lewis Dobbin, with the forward thriving at Preston North End

In 14 appearances for the Lilywhites in the Championship so far, Dobbin has scored four and grabbed three assists, including three assists in his last three, as he has emerged as a key player at Deepdale.

In Heckingbottom's preferred 5-3-2 system, Dobbin has partnered each of Daniel Jebbison, Michael Smith, and Militun Osmajic up top this season, in a position which seems to be currently getting the best out of the Englishman.

With Norwich's struggles there for everyone to see, they may well regret not returning to a deal to bring back Dobbin to Carrow Road this summer.

His versatility would have been valued by Clement, able to play on either wing or up front, and with Norwich's injury crisis ongoing, Dobbin may well have been a brilliant addition to the Canaries' ranks.

But what is Norwich's loss has been Preston's gain, who have emerged as early contenders for a top-six finish this season.