City moved to sign the winger on loan from Aston Villa in January, with Dobbin impressing in the 11 games he played for the Canaries before suffering a calf injury in their 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers in March.
That proved to be his final minutes in yellow and green, with Norwich electing against moving to sign Dobbin despite holding a first refusal to sign the 22-year-old on another season-long loan deal.
Concerns over his fitness and the club’s decision to sign other targets saw Norwich move away from Dobbin, who eventually signed for Championship rivals Preston and has netted twice in his opening five games for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
Despite his short Norwich stay, Dobbin reflects with positively about his time at Carrow Road, believing it injected confidence back into his game after a difficult stint at West Brom prior to his Norfolk move.
“I can’t praise Norwich enough to be fair,” the winger said. “They were great with me. I loved every minute there.
“I was really gutted when I did pick up that injury but I felt like I was just getting into my stride and getting fully fit there. It was unlucky but, like I said, that club was amazing with me and I’ve got nothing but high praise for them.
“It’s so common in football for loans not to go well; it’s part of the game. It’s how you react to it really. It’s what you do in your next step and I think what I did at Norwich proved that I have the right mentality really. It’s gone now… I just have to grow and learn from it and prove everyone wrong really.”
Lewis Dobbin has made a bright start to life on loan at Preston North End. (Image: PA)
On early evidence, Dobbin’s switch to Preston has proven to be the right one. Heckingbottom’s side have enjoyed a strong start to the season by taking 12 points from their opening seven league matches.
Dobbin has played five of those in all competitions – scoring twice and assisting once – and believes his decision to make the move to Deepdale is paying off.
“As a loan player, or a new player going into any team, you always look at the squad before you sign there,” Dobbin told the Lancashire Post.
“You want to know if those players are going to suit the way you play and if you’re going to be able to gel with them. I definitely look at this team thinking the football they play is really good, and I think you’ve definitely seen that in the games we’ve played so far.”
Injury curtailed Dobbin’s short loan stint with Norwich City earlier this year.(Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)
City fans’ eyes were drawn to one strike in particular against Middlesbrough, when Dobbin charged towards goal before finding the top corner from range.
“I think as soon as I get the ball and I face someone up, I just want to go for goal,” he said. “That’s what I want to do. I think that’s what my game is. I don’t really have any doubts when I do face players up. I just want to try and make things happen. Thankfully, that time it did happen.”
Norwich will face Dobbin and Preston at Deepdale in December as their final away game before Christmas.