Norwich City column: Shane Duffy’s future not as clear-cut as it seemed after improved displays

Like many, I thought the arrival of Johannes Hoff Thorup spelt the end of Shane Duffy’s time at Carrow Road.

I think it is in no way disrespectful to say Duffy has built his career based upon a reputation as an old-school, no-nonsense centre-half. At 6ft 4ins he towers above most strikers he comes up against.

The Ireland international is certainly not famed for his ball-playing abilities, or what I like to call front-foot defending – two skills he was evidently going to need to succeed under Hoff Thorup’s attacking, expansive style of play.

That’s why it came as a surprise to see Duffy in the team for the first game of the campaign at Oxford United, especially when you consider the hype around Brad Hills during pre-season and the return to fitness of Grant Hanley.

Like the whole team, he suffered on that particular afternoon – but has grown game-on-game under the new management team, proving the doubters (myself included) wrong.

I’m happy to hold my hands up and say I thought Duffy was finished – and maybe the 32-year-old is past his best. But we’ve seen so far this campaign what an important asset he can still be, providing more than the experience and leadership he was signed for in the first place.

That was evident in the goal he scored at Preston North End on Tuesday night – carrying the ball half way up the pitch, exchanging a neat one-two with Josh Sargent, before calmly sweeping home.

Maybe they are wrong when you say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

All that to say, Duffy still has his limitations.

At times he is slow and cumbersome, that won’t change. Nor should we expect it to.

But he deserves some long-overdue credit for the way in which he has embraced the new style, stepped up his game and turned around his fortunes at Norwich City.

There is no doubt, at least in the short term future, he has a vital role to play.