Alex Neil’s £2.6m Norwich City transfer gamble netted huge cash windfall | OneFootball

James Maddison and Ben Godfrey both recouped handsome transfer fees for the Canaries

It's fair to say Alex Neil completed lots of successful transfer business during his tenure as Norwich City boss, alongside leading the Canaries to an instant Premier League return in 2015.

The Norfolk outfit defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 in the play-off final of said year, thanks to goals from Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond.

Neil couldn't keep Norwich in the top flight, though, as they finished 19th at the end of the 2015/16 Premier League season, five points adrift of safety.

The eventual Preston North End, Sunderland, Stoke City, and Millwall boss was sacked in March 2017, when a five-game winless run left his side nine points behind the Championship play-off places.

However, Neil made a lasting mark in the transfer market for Norwich, especially with the likes of James Maddison and Ben Godfrey.

James Maddison and Ben Godfrey helped Norwich City land handsome profits

James Maddison and Ben Godfrey both excelled for the Canaries in the Championship, while the latter was a shining light in an otherwise poor 2019/20 Premier League campaign.

Maddison produced an excellent return of 15 goals and 11 assists in the 2017/18 season, which earned him a summer move to Leicester City, then of the Premier League.

That campaign was the creative midfielder's only full term in Norwich colours, as he had spent time on loan with both Coventry City and Aberdeen after initially moving to Carrow Road in February 2016. Even still, it was full of some very memorable moments - like the below strike against Boro.

Godfrey was another successful signing Neil made for the Canaries in the 2016 winter transfer window, and he stayed in Norfolk until joining Everton in 2020, barring a 2017/18 loan stint with Shrewsbury Town.

Godfrey played a key role in helping the Carrow Road club win the Championship title under Daniel Farke following a successful 2018/19 term, and even notched four goals and two assists as a defender.

As reported by the Pink Un, Maddison joined Norwich from Coventry for a fee of £2.5million, whereas Godfrey signed from York City for a fee of £150,000.

Both the attacking midfielder and the defender went on to become fan favourites at Carrow Road, and subsequently represented England after leaving the Canaries.

More impressively for Norwich, though, as per Sky Sports, Maddison joined Leicester in the summer of 2018 in a deal worth £22m, including add-ons.

Similarly, Godfrey moved to Everton for a fee of £20m, so Neil helped the Canaries make an extremely healthy profit from both eventual England internationals.

Neil didn't have the same impact at Carrow Road as his successor Farke, who won two Championship titles with Norwich, but supporters will be thankful for the great work the ex-Hamilton Academical boss performed in the transfer market.

James Maddison sale enabled hugely successful Norwich City transfer window

The handsome transfer fee that Norwich landed in June 2018 for Maddison arrived in the same summer as the Canaries signed both Emiliano Buendia and Teemu Pukki.

Creative ace Buendia turned out to be the perfect Maddison replacement, as his return of eight goals and 12 assists helped the Norfolk club win the Championship title in 2019.

Like the majority of Farke's Norwich squad, the former Getafe man struggled to adjust to the Premier League, but he was an incredible asset for them in their 2020/21 second-tier title-winning success.

His majorly impressive haul of 15 goals and 16 assists in his last Championship season earned him a move to Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Pukki established himself as one of the best second-tier strikers in modern times, and held his own in the Premier League in Norwich colours, unlike Buendia.

Ultimately, the sale of Maddison helped facilitate the moves for both Pukki and Buendia, and the Canaries will always thank Neil for the profit they made from both the eventual Tottenham Hotspur man and Godfrey.