Coventry City defender Sam McCallum has signed for Norwich City, after the Sky Blues reluctantly accepted a substantial bid from the Premier League side for the 19-year-old.
Sam is a highly talented player who has progressed hugely since he joined the club in Summer 2018, and the opportunity to step up to the Premier League is a significant one for him in his life and career. Once a fair bid had been made to us, we felt that we could not stand in Sam’s way.
Sam has been a regular in the first team squad this season and been the topic of regular speculation, and he has impressed everyone at Coventry City with his continued professionalism and commitment to the Club throughout.
As part of the transfer, we are pleased to confirm that Sam will be loaned back to Coventry City for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.
Sam joined the Sky Blues from Herne Bay FC in August 2018, having been at the V9 Academy, and was initially with the Under 23s. He made his first-team debut in November 2018 in the EFL Trophy, before a full league debut in December 2018 against Southend United - he would make a total of 7 league appearances last season.
McCallum has had a breakthrough season this campaign for Mark Robins’ side, establishing himself in the first-team set up and making 27 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times.
Manager Mark Robins said:
“Sam is a player with great ability and potential in the game, and there has been much interest in him this season. To us, it was unfortunately a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’ Sam would leave, such was the level and nature of the interest.
“We rejected an offer earlier this week for him, but Norwich have now made a substantial bid that we have accepted.
“As part of the deal, Sam will return on loan to us for the rest of the season and we look forward to continuing to work with him and have no doubt he will be an important and positive influence in the rest of the campaign.”