The Canaries lavished £438,000 on middle men between July 1st and December 31st 2005, second in profligacy only to Leeds United. While the figure seems high for a club who haven't spent millions in the transfer market in that period, Chief Executive Neil Doncaster believes the relative enormity of the sum reflects the fact that he reveals exactly how much is spent.
"Every time we do a deal, whether it is a free transfer or when we sign a player on loan or on a permanent contract, agents fees are payable," said Doncaster.
"We declare all these fees as we are bound to by the rules. The reality is the sort of players we have here will incur agents fees which we declare in full."
Doncaster's explanation may sound reasonable, but only 13 percent of deals in the Football League during the last six months involved such fees, with 21 clubs saying they had paid nothing to agents.