Premier League Sides Interested In Reading FC's Oliver Norwood

Northern Ireland international midfielder Oliver Norwood is piquing the interest of Premier League sides Hull City and Burnley, as well as Celtic.

According to the Reading Chronicle,

Steve Bruce's Tigers beat Sheffield Wednesday in last weekend's Championship play-off final to seal a return to the top flight.

The Chronicle understands Bruce is now keen to lure Norwood to the KC Stadium in order to bolster his midfield for the 2016/17 campaign.

Sources say Norwood's representatives from Unique Sports Management have already held talks with Hull City chiefs over a possible move.

Reports elsewhere suggest Norwood's hometown club, Burnley, are also keen on signing him following their promotion to the Premier League.

Scottish giants Celtic – now managed by ex-Royals boss Brendan Rodgers – are also showing strong interest in the player.

A predictable major blow for Reading

This news probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to you, considering Norwood is one of the club's most saleable assets and is an ever-present in the Northern Ireland national team.

The £1.5m figure mooted seems a little low for a player of Norwood's supposed calibre, but as Anthony Smith says, the fact he has only a year remaining on his contract may be part of the reason for that.

If the club were to sell Norwood, it would be a major blow to the team. Norwood is the type of player the side can be built around. Norwood's best form came in the early part of the season when he was the primary creative force from deep midfield, and statistically speaking he was one of the best midfielders in the Championship last season.

They say every cloud has a silver lining. The only one I can see is that the Norwood sale, should it go ahead, will hopefully create funds to bring in some much-needed quality for the coming season.

Oh, and it'll give Evans, Tshibola, Kuhl etc. the chance to stake a claim for the first team.

Let's wait and see if this one comes true…