Neil hopes ‘quality’ players are close to signing

Alex Neil wants to add quality to Norwich City’s squad in January but would not confirm whether deals for Steven Naismith or Ivo Pinto are close.

Speaking to the press ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game against Southampton, Neil said he would not be “talking about individuals” when asked if the club was any closer to signing Naismith from Everton or Dinamo Zagreb defender Pinto, who have both been linked with the Premier League club.

Neil said: “We are looking to add to the squad, but I will not go into details with specific clubs or players.

“We will not be talking about individuals.

“It is always difficult because until things are signed and across the line you can think you are as close as you like but until the paper is signed and the player is in the building then nothing has been made complete.”

Neil also added that when the transfer window opens in January he has no plans to sell any of the current members of his Canaries squad with the club currently 15th in the table with 20 points.

He added: “We have a strong club at the moment and we want to try and add to it.

“We will certainly need to bring some new players in before we even think about letting any players leave because the squad is so small.”

While Neil would not confirm the names of any targets, he did admit that simply bolstering his threadbare squad in terms of numbers is not in his thinking.

“This window will all be about adding bodies to our squad,” he said. “But it’s not about bringing in quantity, it’s about bringing in quality.

“I’ve spoken to the players and they know that we need to freshen things up and that bringing new players in can only help us.”

Norwich have also enquired about the availability of Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia, according to the Daily Mail.