Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony insists it would not have been right had he stood in the way of Ryan Bennett's move to Norwich.

Bennett joined the Premier League club for an undisclosed fee that the Posh are reporting as a club-record sale, surpassing the £2.5 million received from Brighton for striker Craig Mackail-Smith in the summer.

The England Under-21 international defender has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Norwich but will return to London Road on an emergency loan until the end of February while Peterborough arrange a replacement.

"When a player lets you know 24 hours prior to the window that this will change his family's life and acts in the correct way which Ryan has, then I have to work hard to make sure the club gets the best possible deal," MacAnthony said via his personal Twitter page. "Bear in mind the player wanted this to happen. It is a top 12 Premier League club at the end of the day.

"Norwich have acted very professionally and have loaned Ryan back to us to give us time to find a replacement when the loan window opens on February 8."

Peterborough signed Bennett from Grimsby in 2009 and the Mariners will be entitled to a slice of the fee under the terms of his transfer to Posh.