Norwich City's bid to permanently flog Steven Naismith has been thrown into doubt after Hearts boss Craig Levein admitted that he may not return to the Scottish club, The Scottish Sun is reporting.

Naismith has been on loan at Hearts for the second half of this season after joining the Scottish Premiership outfit in the January transfer window.

Hearts are very keen on signing the veteran attacker on a permanent deal and Norwich want to get rid of Naismith, who is on high wages and is out of favour at the East Anglia club.

But Levein has admitted that they are not able to afford the 31-year-old's transfer fee and wages as he still has one year left to run on his £50k per week Norwich contract.

Levein has conceded that Hearts are "miles away" from being in a position where they could help with that, putting the onus on the 45-cap Scotland international to have his contract terminated and take a pay cut if he wants a permanent move to Hearts.

The former Everton, Rangers and Kilmarnock man, who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a striker, has featured less than 50 times for the Canaries since his big money move from Goodison Park in January 2016.

The Verdict

If Norwich want to flog Naismith so desperately and start afresh, then they should just cut their losses and terminate his deal. That way, the 31-year-old is able to return to Scotland for the sake of his own career rather than wasting away being frozen out at Carrow Road. Hearts simply cannot afford to buy him out of his current deal and there will be no other clubs willing to match his £50k per week wages.

Norwich fans - What would  you do in this situation? Let us know below...