London - Former Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland defender Chris Hughton has been appointed manager of Premier League Norwich City, his previous club Birmingham City said on Thursday.
Hughton led Newcastle United to promotion to the top flight before being sacked in December 2010 and then moving on to Birmingham.
He takes over at Carrow Road from Paul Lambert, who has moved to Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Championship (second division) Birmingham said in a statement on their website (www.bcfc.com) that compensation had been agreed to take Hughton and three backroom staff to Norwich.
“The departing Blues boss will take over as the Canaries' new manager and will be followed by assistant manager Colin Calderwood, first team coach Paul Trollope and chief scout Ewan Chester,” they said.
Hughton, a Londoner who spent most of his playing career at Tottenham, was due to give a news conference at the Norwich ground later.
Norwich finished 12th last season after returning to the top flight under Lambert, while Birmingham missed promotion to the Premier League after losing a playoff semi-final.
Birmingham had, reluctantly, granted permission for Hughton to talk to Norwich on Wednesday.
“We'd like to thank Chris and his team for their efforts over the last 12 months and they leave with our best wishes,” said Birmingham's acting chairman Peter Pannu. – Reuters