GLENN Roeder has today confirmed his first signing of the summer with a Bosman swoop for highly-rated Northern Ireland international Sammy Clingan.

The central midfielder and free-kick specialist, 24, has agreed to join the Canaries from Nottingham Forest, on July 1, in a two-year deal when his contract at The City ground expires at the end of the month.

Roeder told First News: "I'm extremely happy to secure the signature of Sammy Clingan.

"He is a player we watched a number of times during a successful promotion season at Nottingham Forest last year. We felt that he was the driving force in their midfield and we look forward to him continuing his career in an upward curve with us.

"He is a Northern Ireland international with lots of experience. Having met him he struck me as having the drive and motivation that I'm looking for in my players."

Clingan commented: "I'm absolutely delighted to be joining a big club like Norwich City. I'm leaving a good club, Nottingham Forest, to join Norwich and I'm really looking forward to trying to get them promoted to the Premier League.

"Once I had spoken to Glenn Roeder and viewed the fantastic facilities at the Club it was an easy decision to make. I knew of Glenn's managerial reputation, working with big name players in the Premier League and hopefully he will help me become a better player too. I was very impressed with what he said and his plans for the future - it really caught me and now I can't wait for the first game."

A Wolves trainee, Clingan was twice loaned to Chesterfield in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 campaigns, appearing 37 times and scoring three goals.

IN ACTION: Clingan in international against Spain

 He joined Forest in January 2006, less than a month after producing an eye-catching display for loan club Chesterfield against The Reds at The City ground.

After joining Forest for an undisclosed fee, the 2006-07 season ended with a broken ankle for the talented midfielder, with Clingan picking up the injury in a 5-1 win over Huddersfield in March. Clingan made a good recovery, making 46 league and cup  appearances (including two as substitute) in the last campaign.

The Belfast-born player was called into the Northern Ireland Squad by then manager Lawrie Sanchez, making his debut at the Giants Stadium in New York against Uruguay in May 2006. Clingan's first competitive game resulted in a 3-0 home defeat to Iceland in September 2006, in the first match of the Euro 2008 Qualifiers. He also played in the 2006 3-2 home win over Spain, setting up David Healy 's second goal of his hat-trick with a free-kick, and has continued to feature for his country former Canaries boss Nigel Worthington.