Kenton decision within six weeks

The 24-year-old defender will be out-of-contract next summer and the Canaries are keen to tie him to a new deal as soon as possible or risk losing him for nothing under the Bosman Ruling.

A club spokesman said: "Darren's contract expires in June 2003. He's come on in leaps and bounds from the end of last season and the start of this.

"There has been some media speculation about him, but it's good speculation because it means he's doing well and drawing the attention of the national press.

"We opened negotiations with his agent two or three weeks ago, just sounding out Darren's position. They were only preliminary discussions and we expect to know within the next six weeks what his intentions are."