[citation needed] After signing professional terms with Charlton, he went out on loan to Leyton Orient in March 2003 until the end of the 2002–03 season.

[3][4][5] At the end of his loan spell, in November 2004, Brentford signed Turner permanently, on a two-and-a-half-year contract, for an undisclosed fee.

[citation needed] Turner scored his first Sunderland goal and completed the full 90 minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on 27 September 2009 in a 5–2 victory.

Turner played his first game of the 2010–11 season against Colchester United in the League Cup 2nd round tie at the Stadium of Light.

On 29 August 2010, he started his first premier league match of the season against Manchester City but had to be replaced through injury at half-time by Phil Bardsley in a 1–0 win at the Stadium of Light.

He did not make his return to the first team until 25 September against Liverpool at Anfield, when he completed the full 90 minutes alongside Titus Bramble in the 2–2 draw.

The injury ruled Turner out for several months, and although he returned to action in March, his form dropped and he continued to struggle for fitness.

He retained his place in the next three games, a defeat at Arsenal, an away win at Bolton and a home draw with Aston Villa, before suffering a re-occurrence of his injury.

On 27 July 2012, Norwich City manager Chris Hughton revealed that the club had signed Sunderland's Michael Turner on a 2-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

[29] He scored his first goal for the club on 27 October with a late header to earn Norwich a point in a 1–1 draw away to Aston Villa.