O'Neill, now in charge of Aston Villa after spells at Leicester and Celtic followed his all-too brief stay at Carrow Road, is deciding on the future of central defender Gary Cahill, a target for second city rivals Birmingham.
Alex McLeish wants Cahill to link up with his former Villa team mate Liam Ridgewell at St Andrews and, having already splashed £6million on Everton forward James McFadden, is keen to free up some cash.
The Cahill move will hopefully, then, lead to an exit for Martin Taylor, surplus to requirements under Steve Bruce and loaned out. The recall to Arsenal of Johan Djourou and the loss of Radhi Jaidi to the African Cup of Nations led to Taylor being in the squad for the Blues' trip to the Emirates, but the £750,000 on the table from Roeder, plus the £600,000 expected from the sale of Neil Danns to Crystal Palace and the £1million that Matt Sadler could fetch would finance a deal for Cahill.
Aside from the financial considerations, another defensive recruit would drop 'Tiny' back down the pecking order. Allowing for any of the newly monied clubs knocking around the Championship making Karen Brady and Taylor an offer they can't refuse, the big defender should be back in a yellow shirt by the time Norwich return to league action after the FA Cup weekend.