Blackburn Rovers midfielder Bradley Johnson has lifted the lid on his Norwich City sale.

In 2016, Johnson was sold by the Canaries to Derby County.

He recalled to edp24.co.uk: “I was sitting at home and I got a phone call from my agent saying that clubs had been bidding for me and there had been a bid accepted.

“I was thinking 'really?'. That was a night before deadline day, so I went in and spoke to the manager and everyone else but I think, in all fairness and respect to Alex Neil, it was out of his hands a little bit. It was more a decision the club made as a board about getting good money."

The Scot described the reasoning behind Johnson's exit, claiming the deal was too good to turn down for a player who wouldn't feature in his starting XI.

“I played the games under Alex Neil but maybe they saw it like that because I didn't start the last three games under him before I left," said Johnson.

“At the end of the day, I'm old enough to know that football, from the fan's perspective, you want to see the best players, but for the club, it's a business.

“They got a good offer for me from Derby and they accepted it. It was a strange day for me with everything happening in the last minute."