Tim Krul is ramping up his preparations for life after football and is encouraging young players to make plans earlier. 

The former Norwich City goalkeeper, now at Championship rivals Luton, is currently enrolled on the PFA Business School course to learn more about future careers in the game and is studying for a diploma in global sports directorship alongside ex-Canaries defender Ryan Bennett. 

Krul's begun to turn some of his attention to preparing for his future career post-retirement after a bad injury he suffered prior to his move to Carrow Road in 2018.

"One of the main reasons for me to start this course is getting a bit more understanding of the issues off the pitch," Krul said. 

"As a professional footballer living in a small mindset, you just want to perform on a Saturday - you're not really worried what goes on behind the scenes. I was always really interested to see commercially, on the sporting side - what was going on. 

"I had a bad injury at 29, so that was a wake-up call for me personally to start thinking that it could be over in a split second. You've got a lot of years left after your career because football, unfortunately, doesn't last." 

Krul has also worked on building a business portfolio to expand his options once he calls time on a hugely successful career that has included two Championship title-winning campaigns during his spell at Carrow Road. 

He is advising younger players to begin considering the future at a younger stage of their careers. 

Tim Krul is now plying his trade at Championship rivals Luton Town.Tim Krul is now plying his trade at Championship rivals Luton Town. (Image: PA) "The PFA, as a union, has really evolved amazingly, especially in recent years with this diploma and exposure to top, top people in the business. You're not going to learn that in a book or in a couple of hours.

"To hear what is going on on the ground from the main people in the business, this course is perfect from that. That is one of the things I would tell myself earlier - be more open-minded and develop as much as you can.

"Luckily I've had good mentors telling me that early enough to not just to think about football but also investments. Having a secondary career is the major advice I'd give to anyone out there."