Mark Attanasio has his hands full with Norwich City and Milwaukee Brewers right now after losing key figure to their arch-rivals in the States and changes at Carrow Road. 

Brewers manager Craig Counsell has signed a five-year deal worth over $40m with rivals Chicago Cubs - in a move that has sparked fan fury in Milwaukee whilst Ben Knapper has accelerated his arrival at Norwich amid their poor run of form. 

Counsell is the Brewers most successful manager, leading the baseball team to five playoff appearances in their last six years. His contract expired at the end of the season. 

His decision to swap the Brewers for the Cubs has been met with frustration and Attanasio spoke to the local media hours after the decision was announced. 

“We’re all here today because we lost Craig,” Attanasio told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But I’ve reflected on this – Craig has lost us and he’s lost our community also.

“When he first told me, I said, ‘Are you messing with me?’ I was just being direct. But, you know, we had a very open-ended process here. I told Craig we were going to let him explore. It took longer than I thought it would when I said we’d let him explore, but I felt good to my word and wanted to give him that commitment."

Attanasio will be busy across both of his sporting ventures with changes at the Brewers and at City - with Knapper accelerating his arrival at Carrow Road by a fortnight due to their struggles on the pitch. 

The American was involved in board meetings that helped reach that decision, with Stuart Webber departing after City's game with Cardiff on Saturday. 

This change in the footballing department coincides with Attanasio's led group, Norfolk FB Holdings, set to increase their shareholding in the club to 40pc - on a par with current majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones. 

Norwich Evening News: Stuart Webber will officially depart his post as Norwich City sporting director on Saturday. Stuart Webber will officially depart his post as Norwich City sporting director on Saturday. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Ratification of that is set to come shortly with the EFL conducting their checks before approving the transaction. Attanasio is expected to attend Norwich's Annual General Meeting scheduled for later this month. 

Discussing his involvement with the Brewers, Attanasio reaffirmed his commitment to the cause despite criticism from some supporters of the franchise. 

"I plan on, our goal for our family is for me and my sons to be the stewards for the community for a long time," Attanasio said, "and then hopefully past 2050, someone else will have the same emotion for the team, the community that’s very special."