Former MK Dons defender Harry Darling signs for Norwich City

Former MK Dons defender Harry Darling has signed for Norwich City, where he reunites with his former Dons boss Liam Manning.

The 25-year-old has opted to reunite with Manning at Carrow Road, having joined the Canaries from Swansea City on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract in South Wales.

The defender was linked with a number of other clubs, including a Rangers side managed by another former Dons’ boss in Russell Martin, plus Birmingham, Sheffield United and Wrexham, while he had also received a contract extension offer from the Welsh club, before instead making the move to East Anglia.

Darling leaves after three years with Swansea. He had joined the Welsh club from MK Dons for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in excess of £1million in 2022, and made 112 appearances in all competitions.

Before his move to Wales, Darling had spent 18 months with MK Dons. He had joined from Cambridge in January 2021, and scored 10 goals in 72 appearances with the club. He had been a mainstay in the Dons’ side that came close to winning promotion to the Championship in the 2021/22 season.

Darling told the official Norwich website that he was pleased with his decision to move to Carrow Road and to link up again with his ex-boss Manning, who took over at Norwich City earlier this month.

He said, “I’m delighted, it’s been a long time coming after a lot of conversations. I’m happy to finally get it sorted and I’m looking forward to getting started. 

“Liam being in charge, I worked with him before at MK Dons so I didn’t need convincing too much about the style of play. I really enjoyed it last time working with him.”