Norwich City must watch Middlesbrough FC with some serious frustration over transfer | OneFootball

Norwich City sold Jonny Howson to Middlesbrough in 2017, so to see him still going strong in Boro's midfield will surely be cause for Canary regret.

Norwich City sold Jonny Howson to Middlesbrough in July 2017, so to see the evergreen midfielder still performing at a high level on Teesside in 2024 will surely be cause for Carrow Road frustration.

Following Boro's relegation from the Premier League in 2017, Garry Monk largely misplaced the majority of Middlesbrough's parachute payment-laden war chest that summer.

But the £6m that was invested in Norwich's central midfielder has been worth every single penny and then some for the Teessiders, as Howson has forged a career in the North East that has seen him become one of the club's finest pieces of business in recent times.

Indeed, he's already firmly cemented himself as a Middlesbrough legend for the way he's worn the captain's armband with pride and passion over the years, his reliability, tough-tackling, an abundance of memorable moments and in the way he's oozed class in a red and white shirt both on and off the pitch.

All of that considered, and with the now 36-year-old still going strong in the Championship under Boro boss Michael Carrick this term, the Canaries must be watching on with an element of frustration of what might have been had they not cashed in all those years ago.

Norwich perhaps should've driven a harder bargain for Howson

Signing for Middlesbrough as a 29-year-old, Howson was firmly in the prime of his career at the time, and had proven himself to be a top class central midfielder at Championship level.

Howson was pivotal to the Canaries' top-flight promotion-winning season in 2014/15, in which he bagged nine goals and five assists in 37 Championship appearances, whilst also notching six goals and seven assists in 38 second tier outings in 2016/17.

He'd also shown himself to be a handy player in the Premier League during his time with Norwich too, having been part of four top-flight campaigns as a Canaries player.

When Middlesbrough were ticking off the attributes boxes they desired from a central midfielder, there wouldn't have been many left unticked when it came to Howson.

He could score as well as provide fantastic goals, his leadership ability made him natural captain material, a brilliant range of passing, an expert tackler and disruptor of play, and a battery that failed to run out.

So, when it came to selling Howson in the summer of 2017, to get just £6m for as vital a player as he was to Norwich will surely have many Canaries supporters still feeling as they did at the time, that their club had been shortchanged.

Obviously, transfer prices have only continued to inflate in the years since then, and if Norwich were to sell a 29-year-old version of Howson in the current transfer climate, they could probably expect to at least double their money, if not more.

To sell him to a direct Championship and promotion rival too was even more of a blow to the club than had he sealed a Premier League move. The presence of James Maddison in the Norwich squad certainly softened Howson's departure at the time, but he would soon depart for Leicester City.

Ever since swapping Carrow Road for the Riverside Stadium, Howson has crafted a legacy that will forever see him hold a place in the hearts of Middlesbrough supporters, as one of the club's greatest captains in recent times.

Many Teessiders were skeptical that any player would wear the captain's armband with as much zeal, class and care as Grant Leadbitter had before his departure in 2019, but they needn't have worried.

Well over 300 appearances later in the midst of the 2024/25 season, and the former Norwich skipper is still playing an important role in Carrick's Middlesbrough side, and is surely a player that many Canaries fans would love to see in the heart of their midfield this term.

Therefore, with the benefit of hindsight, the Canaries would surely opt to keep hold of Howson if they could turn back the clocks to the summer of 2017.