The 23-year-old midfielder has left Elland Road six months before his contract was due to expire, opting to take the guarantee of Premier League football now, rather than waiting to see if his hometown club can mount an end-of-season promotion challenge.

But, while new manager Paul Lambert has hailed the England Under-21 international as "brilliant", Howson's former club are recovering from his departure.

A lifelong fan who joined the club aged six and became their youngest captain since Billy Bremner, Howson's exit proved to be the tipping point for a number of the Yorkshire side's fans, who have seen several other key players leave over recent seasons.

Howson's new Norwich team-mate, Bradley Johnson, left after his contract ran down, as did Neil Kilkenny and Jermaine Beckford. Max Gradel and Kasper Schmeichel also moved on a year out from the end of their deals, while rumours continue to link Scotland winger Robert Snodgrass with a other clubs, even if manager Simon Grayson has labelled such talk as "rubbish".

A number of angry supporters surrounded Leeds' new corporate facilities before Saturday's game with Ipswich to protest against owner Ken Bates but, although Howson can see why they are angry, he says the club had little choice but to let him head to Carrow Road for an undisclosed fee.

"It makes it harder when you see a reaction like that. You realise you mean something to them," Howson told LUTV.

"I was the club captain and from the area, but it was me that was still wanting to play in the Premier League and, from the club's point of view, I would have done the same thing if I were in their shoes.

"It was a case of getting something a few months before rather than nothing at all in the summer, and if you look at it that way, rather than 'homegrown lad who was captain', you understand it more.

"It's been no secret that my ambition is to play in the Premier League and that's why we never got round to sorting a contract because we don't know where Leeds are going to be and I wanted to give myself a chance of playing in the Premier League.

"I can understand why the club has sold me now."

Howson injured his knee against Millwall on December 3 and is currently working his way back to fitness, but new manager Lambert is looking at the longer-term picture.

"I think he has been brilliant for Leeds - how he has played but also being their captain brings its own demands. It's a fantastic club, Leeds," he said.

"I think he can add goals to our midfield, which I think we need and he can do that. He'll get better as a player the higher the level he goes up.

"If he does that and everything goes well, he'll be a great player for us."