--- title: "Profit Players: Norwich’s £13m sale of Robbie Brady has proven to be a clever decision" canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-norwich-sale-robbie-brady-burnley-right-decision/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "Liam Togher" section: "Features" published: "2020-06-28T15:00:57Z" modified: "2020-06-28T15:00:57Z" --- # Profit Players: Norwich’s £13m sale of Robbie Brady has proven to be a clever decision **This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.** Four years ago this week, Robbie Brady enjoyed probably the finest moment of his footballing career when [his late header](https://www.uefa.com//uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000448/match=2017958/postmatch/report/index.html#ireland+qualify) gave Republic of Ireland a 1-0 win over Italy which took them to the knockout stage of Euro 2016. It came just a few weeks after he suffered [relegation with Norwich](https://www.skysports.com/football/competitions/premier-league/table/2015), his second year in a row being hit with that fate as he was also in the Hull City team that [dropped out of the Premier League in 2015](https://www.skysports.com/premier-league-table/2014). The Irishman, a [product of Manchester United’s academy](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/transfers/spieler/128229) who made just [one senior appearance for the Red Devils](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/verein/985), had been a [£7m signing](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/33707966) from the Tigers a couple of months after their top-flight demise. Brady [alternated between left-back and left midfield](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/plus/0/saison/2015/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/1123) during his first season at Carrow Road, [scoring three goals and setting up another two](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/plus/0/saison/2015/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/1123) as the Canaries made an immediate return to the Championship under Alex Neil. Buoyed by his Euro 2016 heroics, he got off to a strong start to the following campaign, with [four goals and five assists in 23 league games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/plus/0/saison/2016/wettbewerb/GB2/verein/1123) for Norwich. With the Canaries only [10th](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/plus/0/saison/2016/wettbewerb/GB2/verein/1123) in the second tier in January 2017, though, the Irishman was tempted back to the Premier League by Burnley, where his international colleagues [Jeff Hendrick and Stephen Ward](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-burnley/startseite/verein/1132/saison_id/2016) were playing. He became the Clarets’ [then-record signing](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/31/burnley-robbie-brady-ashley-westwood) on deadline day, swapping East Anglia for Lancashire in a £13m deal (as per [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/31/burnley-robbie-brady-ashley-westwood)), recouping nearly twice the amount Norwich paid for him. It may have seemed like a very risky move by the Carrow Road club at the time to let him go but it has since proven to be a case of them getting the timing exactly right. Brady has never managed to carve out a regular place in Sean Dyche’s first XI at Turf Moor, with 16 his [highest number of league appearances](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/93473/History/Robbie-Brady) in any of his three-and-a-half seasons for Burnley as long-term injuries have impeded his progress. So far this season, he has started just five league games and played 402 top-flight minutes (as per [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/93473/History/Robbie-Brady)). \[freshpress-poll id=”306260″\] He has managed only [five goals in 63 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/128229/verein/1132) for the Clarets, just one more than he scored in his final half-season at Norwich. Nor has been able to recapture the heights of Euro 2016 at international level – his only Ireland goals since that tournament have come in a friendly against Oman and a European qualifier against lowly Gibraltar (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/nationalmannschaft/spieler/128229/verein_id/3509)). Now 28, Brady should be at the peak of his career, but his market valuation is now a mere £4.32m (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/profil/spieler/128229)), just under a third of what the Clarets paid for him back in 2017. Hindsight is a wonderful judge, of course, but with each passing year, Norwich’s wisdom in taking £13m for the [46-cap international](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robbie-brady/nationalmannschaft/spieler/128229/verein_id/3509) has proven to be a clever one. ***Norwich fans, did the club sell Brady at the right time? Did you question the move at the time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!***