CITY can confirm seven first-team squad members will leave the Club when their contracts expire on June 30 – and the Club has exercised options to retain the services of two players for a further year.

The players who will be free agents as of June 30 are John Ruddy, Sebastien Bassong, Steven Whittaker, Ryan Bennett, Youssouf Mulumbu, Michael Turner and Kyle Lafferty.

The Club has exercised options to extend the contracts of left-back Harry Toffolo and goalkeeper Declan Rudd for a further year.

Sporting Director Stuart Webber commented: "We’d like to place on record our sincere thanks to all of the players who are moving on for their contribution to the Club and wish them all the very best in the next chapter in their careers.

"We’re also pleased to have Harry Toffolo and Declan Rudd back with us when the season ends after successful loan spells at Scunthorpe United and Charlton Athletic respectively."

England international Ruddy joined City from Everton in 2010 and went on to play a key role in City’s promotion to the Premier League under Paul Lambert that season.

A string of fine performances from Ruddy helped City to finish 12th in the top flight in 2011-12 and he earned international recognition when he was capped by his country in a friendly against Italy in August 2012.

He suffered a thigh injury that disrupted his 2012-13 season but Ruddy quickly re-established himself as the team's number one, playing every league match in the 2014-15 campaign as City won promotion back to the top flight via the play-offs.

In total, the 30-year-old has made 242 appearances for the Canaries in all competitions.

Bassong, 30, completed a £4m switch from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 and made an immediate impact at Carrow Road, winning the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy for 2012-13 as the Canaries finished 11th in the Premier League.

He returned from a loan spell at Watford midway through the 2014-15 season to play a key role in City's promotion under Alex Neil, featuring in the defence that kept a cleansheet against Middlesbrough at Wembley.

The Cameroon international has played 13 times this season, taking his tally to 135 for the Club, scoring five goals.

Whittaker, 32, arrived at Carrow Road in June 2012, making his Canaries bow in a League Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur that October, the first of 14 appearances in his debut campaign.

He made the right-back berth his own during the promotion-winning year of 2014-15, assisting Nathan Redmond for City's second goal in the play-off final.

The former Hibernian and Rangers full-back signed a new one-year deal last summer and has played 17 matches this season, with his overall appearance total currently at 106.

Centre-back Bennett, 27, joined from Peterborough United in January 2012, playing eight times towards the end of his debut campaign as Lambert's team comfortably retained their Premier League status.

Injuries have hampered his efforts to hold down a regular first-team spot during his time at Carrow Road, though he has accumulated 119 games for City, including 37 this season.

Mulumbu, 30, moved to City at the expiration of his contract with West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2015 but injury restricted him to only nine appearances in all competitions last season.

He has played 16 further matches this term, most recently appearing in the Canaries' 5-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in February.

Turner, 33, agreed a deal with the Canaries in July 2012, moving from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.

He featured consistently in the Premier League over the following two seasons but more recently has found himself out of contention, spending time on loan at Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday. He has made 75 appearances for the Club, scoring four times.

Lafferty, 29, has made 39 appearances since joining from Palermo in 2014, netting four times with his most recent strike coming against Leeds United last November.

Everybody at Carrow Road and Colney would like to thank the players leaving for their time at Norwich City.

SEVEN SENIOR PLAYERS SET TO LEAVE

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