Shrewsbury Town sell Ollie Norburn to Peterborough United in £350,000 deal
Shrewsbury Town have sold their former captain Oliver Norburn to Peterborough United for a fee understood to be £350,000.
The 28-year-old midfielder was replaced as skipper by boss Steve Cotterill ahead of Saturday’s opening game against Burton Albion.
Town club-record transfer Norburn – who had been away on international duty with Grenada this summer – was an unused substitute in the 1-0 defeat to the Brewers, with Cotterill then hinting after the match that the Town No.8 could be on his way.
Posh manager Darren Ferguson is a keen admirer of the former Tranmere midfielder and has attempted to sign him on several occasions. Sunderland were also close to a deal in recent years and Portsmouth have been among his potential suitors this summer.
Norburn had just a year left on the three-year deal he signed with Shrewsbury in the summer of 2019. He would have been available on a free transfer from next summer and clearly found himself out of Cotterill's plans after being left on the bench against the Brewers.
Shrewsbury have been able to negotiate a healthy fee for their former skipper, who is thought to have cost in the region of £250,000-300,000 in 2018, ousting Town's previous record transfer, and was made captain by Sam Ricketts a year later.
He went on to make 116 appearances in all competitions across three seasons, over some of which he was hit by injuries. He scored 18 goals.
Cotterill told the Shropshire Star this week that Norburn's future was up in the air. He suggested the midfielder had returned from Grenada international duty behind on fitness.
The manager admitted it was an easy conversation at the end of last season when he stripped the captaincy from the ex-Leicester youngster.
The midfielder, who is 29 in October, has also been keen to test himself in the Championship and that was a factor key to his move.
Norburn said on joining Posh: “It was a no-brainer for me to make the move. I want to thank the chairman, Barry Fry and the manager for getting it over the line and I am really looking forward to meeting the players and getting started. I want to thank everyone at Shrewsbury and wish them well for the future. I have played against Peterborough a lot in recent years, I know how they like to play and I will be watching the game tonight against Plymouth too."
“It is a good step for me in my career, to come to a club in the Championship and a club that have done really well in recent seasons. In my time at Shrewsbury I did both roles, playing a bit further forward and also in the holding midfield, a bit deeper breaking things up."
