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Norwich City's official released/retained list for 2025 was largely populated by news that most were already expecting.
Jonathan Rowe's permanent move to Marseille went from obligation to confirmation, Callum Doyle returned to parent club Manchester City after his season-long loan and a number of development players were unsurprisingly released at the end of their contracts.
What registered by far the most attention were the final six words of the Canaries' official statement: "Discussions ongoing: Jacob Wright, Lewis Dobbin."
That was the first official glimpse into a transfer window that sporting director Ben Knapper is expecting to be a busy one, and it's no wonder it caused a stir among the yellow and green faithful. Both Wright and Dobbin impressed during their half-season loan spells after moving to Carrow Road in winter, bucking the trend when it comes to the success of Premier League loans at Norwich.
The former took time to grow into the shirt, looking like a peculiar signing in an opening month of misplaced masses, mistimed tackles and miscalculated decisions. He had, after all, played barely any senior football before arriving from the English champions.
"When I came here I'd not played the professional game before, so when you come in it takes time to adapt to a new place, new surroundings and men's football," he told the Pink Un in April. "But yeah, I definitely think that I'm improving game by game, and I think the fans can see that."
His upward curve continued thereafter, peaking at new heights almost every week even as his team-mates were declining and his head coach was on his way to a P45. Out of possession he was physical and enduring, in it urgent and effective.
That's why City will exercise their £2.3million option to make the deal permanent before long, with the i's still being dotted and the t's crossed but an announcement likely to make Wright the first signing of the summer.
For Dobbin the reality is slightly more complex, even if he was included in the same bracket as his temporary team-mate on that statement.
The 22-year-old undoubtedly made an impression, hitting the ground running to a much greater extent than Wright when he was signed from Premier League Aston Villa in January. He threatened with his runs in-behind, covered ground at both ends and produced quality in the final third.
He displayed that with well-taken goals against Swansea and Stoke in comfortable victories over the Championship pair, but there's no such option present in the contract City signed with the Villains. Instead they have a first-refusal agreement, meaning they could match any season-long loan offer that comes in this summer.
Turning that into another season in Norfolk would require Dobbin's approval, and there are considerations on both sides that will be impacted by events since his season-ending injury at Blackburn in March.
First and foremost it should be noted that Knapper is a fan of the former Everton man's footballing ability. "He's a player who made a good impact here, came in and really slotted well into our environment," he said of Dobbin. "He was producing some really good, consistent performances that helped us a lot. He's a player that we really like, and let's see how it develops."
But his prior admission that the situation was "TBC" sounded much less certain than he was on Wright, and Norwich do have to consider that calf injury. The winger missed more than half of their league games after cutting short his West Brom loan to make the move, and after a season littered with squad fitness issues that will be even more important to Knapper ahead of 2025-26.
On Dobbin's side there's the fact that he was so well-suited to Johannes Hoff Thorup's system and practices, with no hint of the Dane's subsequent sacking at the time of the injury.
So although they were included in the same section of the announcement, the situations of the two players are vastly different as Knapper builds a squad that he hopes will challenge for promotion. There's no doubting the contributions they made last term, but whether it's one or two around for the next remains to be seen.
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