Over the course of the last twelve months, I’ve heard many media outlets say that there is a lack of academy talent at Norwich City, certainly with regard to producing players ready for first-team action.
I don’t consider this to be accurate.
There is a ‘conveyor belt’ in operation but there has also been hesitation from the first team management to offer opportunities to those players as they prefer to rely instead on experience.
As many people are unaware of the academy’s best players, I thought it might be useful to go through some who could impact the first team.
Emmanuel Adegboyega
The Irish Under-21s defender’s game is all about high levels of managed aggression, pace, and strong tackling, which makes him a good one-on-one defender. In addition to that, he shows tactical intelligence and bravery to drive the U21s up the pitch, often providing the team with an extra man in possession.
Emmanuel also has wonderful mental characteristics, which will stand him in good stead if/when those first-team opportunities arise.
Emmanuel Adegboyega has been a star player for the U21s.
Jaden Warner
Another player who has been hovering around first-team football for a while now and who made his debut against Fulham in the Carabao Cup, where he was arguably Norwich’s best player. The Warner dilemma is an interesting one as it challenges the club’s philosophy.
Currently, as has been discussed, there is very little resell value in the current first-team, especially with regard to the defenders, and it contains four centre-backs with similar playing styles – players who like to dominate their defensive area by winning challenges, blocking shots and heading away crosses.
But none of those four are particularly quick, which (as we have discovered) is problematic when it comes to counter-attacking situations. Players like Adegboyega and Warner are effective in those scenarios, which makes their continued omissions more questionable, especially as successful teams have different players with different strengths in each position.
Brad Hills
Also worth noting is that Norwich have, at the moment, arguably the best defender in League Two. Hills has played in almost every game for Accrington Stanley this season – 17 games in all competitions to be precise – and has played every single minute of those games while accumulating four clean sheets, scoring once and assisting once. Despite Hills getting experience at a lower level, the idea of him being in the first-team in the near future may be far-fetched but it proves the academy system is working, and he could be a viable option over the next two years.
Other defenders
To delve even deeper into future defensive options, the club recently handed a professional deal to Charlie Wilson, who has been the academy’s most consistent player since his arrival in April. Add to that, Waylon Renecke, who represented his country, South Africa, in the Under-17s African Cup of Nations last summer. Norwich have invested heavily in the left-footed defender and are reaping their rewards with the defender adjusting perfectly to under-21 level at both left back and centre back.
In summary, contrary to the thoughts of many, the depth of academy talent at centre-back is quite remarkable.
Finley Welch
Moving onto midfield, City have a wonderfully talented midfielder in Welch. Twelve months ago, his stock in the game was so high that England Under-18s were monitoring his progress. Arguably, Welch’s greatest strength is his versatility as he performs at a high level in every position he plays in. At many other Championship clubs, he would by now have had an opportunity to perform on the first team stage.
Other players, like Ken Aboh, Guilherme Montoia, Pedro Lima, and Adian Manning, are also close to reaching that same level but probably still need to go up a few more gears. However, to counter this, it is worth noting that Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons probably were not 100 percent ready for first-team football when their opportunities came, but they took them. The club’s commitment to those two players worked and ended up earning over £20 million in profit.
Moving further down the age groups, there are more wonderfully talented players with masses of potential, such as Uriah Djedje, Miles Bracking, and Elliot Myles. The conveyor belt is still producing but it does need to be managed better.
Ironically, alongside all of the question marks over the academy’s ability to produce new talent has been the amazing success story of Jonathan Rowe – a player who came through and who is now the Championship’s joint-third top goalscorer with seven goals and an assist. Rowe will arguably go on to make the club millions or become an integral part of Norwich City’s future.
Jon Rowe has been a shining light in the 23/24 season. Credit: bbcsport
Claims that Stuart Webber’s reign has been underwhelming when it comes to academy development ignore the success stories of Jamal Lewis, Todd Cantwell, and Max Aarons, and if you focus your mind back to the first half against Leeds (h), three of the four attacking players were from the academy and contributed to a good attacking performance.
For me, that was an example of the academy pathway flourishing and first-team recruitment declining.
However, I do agree with the sentiment that the club is blocking pathways for the younger players to develop. The centre-back position – as discussed above – is the perfect example. Experience, even when playing poorly, is favoured at the expense of young talent.
If Norwich are still in a poor league position come March, and still opt for those experienced players over the younger centre-backs, like Warner, it will be a huge, wasted opportunity.
But the influx of experienced players on relatively long-term deals has stalled the trajectory of their development and/or a major avenue of cash flow. It is highly unlikely that anyone will buy a 33-year-old, for £10m but young players with promise and bright futures could move on for significant sums.
It also poses another major question:
How can Ben Knapper generate funds for a rebuild when half of the first team is over 30? Add to that the Attanasios’ apparent reluctance to invest in the team at the minute.
The answer is player sales, and the only two who are currently in that bracket are Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe. But to show faith in academy players who are hungry to make an impact could help add to that currently very small pot of saleable assets.
I sense though a reluctance from the first-team coaching staff to offer these lads meaningful opportunities as they expect those experienced players to be consistent performers despite them being the complete opposite in recent weeks.
It is only a small sample size admittedly, but we have seen proof that Jon Tomkinson can perform to the level against Burnley – the best side in the Championship last season – and that Warner can thrive against Premier League opposition.
So, one final thought. For me, the conveyor belt is not short of academy talent but it needs to be nurtured with high-level coaching and inspirational figures who are capable of galvanising that talent. Then we have a chance.
I agree 100%. It is a sorry state of affairs at CB. We are hanging hopes on Grant Hanley’s return too! The men in suits managed to miss the opportunity for a loan back season of Omobamidele, who is not even on the bench at Forest. We have yet to try Baath but Duffy and Gibson are always good for at least one goal gifted to the opposition, and lately more than one. At FB we need someone who can defend. Giannoulis is not. As for the other weak points, at least Idah is no longer first option. Huang’s goal was composed. My other gripe is Kenny McLean. I would hope someone sees sense and gives Sorensen a run at DMF as, once his contract expires, he will be another good footballer to leave. He came on for Hanley (injured by Ronaldo) and proceeded to school Rashford and Ronaldo as CB. We only lost that game thanks to Max Aarons draped an arm over Ronaldo in the penalty area. How’s he doing at the Cherries?!
Thanks for reading Roger, hugely appreciate it!💛
I just think we need to get back to being proactive Norwich City again, instead of ‘reactive’ Norwich City.
One of the worst part of Farkes departure has been the reluctance to try academy players. Look at the young Leeds player who recently played us off the park!
Rowe had already been tried earlier on but players such as Warner and Tompkinson have looked decent but instead of a run in the team we’ve turned to freebies who are well past their sell by date.
The biggest fault of Wagner is not his tactics but his selection.
He wants to play a high press with the ball played out from the back but neither Gibson or Duffy are up to the job.
The snail like pace they try and play the ball out is sleep inducing and puts us on the back foot. If the youngsters are not given a chance now they must start thinking about moving on.
Webbers big and hopefully final mistake has been to give all these old players relatively long contracts so we are lumbered with an unsustainable wage bill over the next couple of years. You’d have thought the club would have learnt from the Naismith debacle but no let’s try it again and see if it is cheaper second time around.
Agree with your thoughts, Roger.
I think there’s huge irony in the fact, we want to play a high line, yet we have the slowest group of CBs in the club for a long time. We need to give Warner etc opportunities, but they are too content on playing the senior guys.
Agree with your thoughts, John.
I think there’s huge irony in the fact, we want to play a high line, yet we have the slowest group of CBs in the club for a long time. We need to give Warner etc opportunities, but they are too content on playing the senior guys.
I totally agree with Will, Roger and John.
Having seem the academy side on a number of occasions this season, both in the flesh and live on the screen I have thoroughly enjoyed their output. Most notably when they beat Chelsea at carrow Road.
I concur with the parallels drawn between Tompkinson and Warner, who both excelled on debut away at difficult opponents and were then sunk without trace. The argument that Duffy, and to a lesser degree Gibson, are preferred because they offer consistent performances does stand up to scrutiny – they are both consistently awful.
In Warner’s case I feel he could become a star at Championship level if given a 6-week run in the first team.
Adegboyega is absolutely ideal for the way we are attempting to play. Dynamic powerful and forward thinking. From what I’ve seen I think we have a gem on our hands and I wouldn’t be averse to seeing him assimilated, perhaps on the bench.
Welch, Aboh, Brooke, Wilson and a plethora of goalkeepers have also excited me and given the current climate surrounding the club alongside the lad who scores 2 or 3 a game at 17 and 18 levels gives something to cling to while the senior figures on and off the pitch drag the club down.
Rowe, of course, totally debunks the theory that the production line has completely dried up as without him we would be nailed-on relegation certainties this season.
Thank you so much Chris for reading!💛
I echo all the observations you state mate. Unfortunately the team are wanting to implement an attacking/aggressive style, yet we’re getting the wrong profile of players to execute it.
Thanks for the insight Will. I always look forward to your updates. It’s probably for the best that the youngsters are away from the current turmoil going on with the first team squad. Hopefully the new sporting directors experience with the Arsenal loans and development area will provide a more fertile pathway for the upcoming players.
Also the Attanasio camp is said to believe strongly in development of youngsters.
Thank you for your kind words Andrew, means so much!
“One of the worst part of Farkes departure has been the reluctance to try academy players.” (JohnF. )
That’s a lovely soundbite but hardly borne out by the facts. Gibbs, Springett, Idah, and Rowe have all played regularly. At home to Boro Stacey was unusually poor and promptly dropped in favour of Fisher – who had showed again that if (like Lewis, Omo and Aarons) you apply yourself and actually make an impact when given a sniff you will be fast-tracked.
Generally it’s probably easier to bring in a rookie full back than centre half – there’s less can go wrong, and often they are quite attack minded, still needing to learn the defensive side. I would like to see what Warner can do, but don’t forget that both Godfrey and Omo only got their chances originally because of injury. I’m more concerned that despite lots of opportunities McCallum still hasn’t made the most of his undoubted talent. When Hills returns he will surely be in prime position to take over from Gianoulis.
The lad at Leeds by the way is 22, has been there 3 years, and only played around 50 games. They paid an “undisclosed fee” for him, which is normally code for “more than the fans will think we should have offered”. But still, any old stick to beat the club with will do for you Luckily when results pick up again – which they will one day – you’ll be able to disappear again for a while.
As Chris above says, the only consistent thing about our current CB pairing are that they are consistently awful.
How many other clubs in ANY league would select a pair who are slow, each with a turning circle bigger than the Titanic, and liable for gifting at least one gaol per game?
By the sound of it, we have both numbers and decent skills sets amongst the younger players at the club. Tomkinson was excellent at Burnley last season, as was Warner at Fulham recently. Their rewards??
To be dropped without any plausible reasons forthcoming from the coaching staff.
Let’s face it, we couldn’t be doing any worse if they were both playing.
O T B C
Hi Will
I had great hopes for young Flynn Clarke who I think is now at His Majesty’s pleasure somewhere.
Was he released or kept on the books he was a silly boy and just maybe he will have learnt a hard lesson in life that he can take into his football future be it at city or somewhere else
I don’t think we got any clarity on that situation, but I don’t see him playing for the first team anytime soon.
I think with good behaviour he could be out before the end of the season and back at the club.
He was a very silly boy but could have a big future if you belive Barry Fry
HI Will, thank you for this brilliant piece, sadly the only part of the club I can look towards and think it is working properly. I love watching the young players coming through and hope that they still will, especially as we will soon have a new SD who we hope will choose an HC who will do what Daniel Farke did a few years back. I don’t think it’s the lack of talent, it’s the decision making of the coaches in the first team set-up.
Thank you so much Jane for your kind words, means a lot. I’m a bit like you, I love watching the younger players thrive.
It’s a ridiculous criticism of an academy that has produced a Chelsea Premier League player. We should be more adventurous and give the likes of Welsh, Aboh and Lima a chance – their enthusiasm could rub off on the senior players.
We have so many options for central defenders at academy level,the current pairing are asked to do too much because they have no protection. Is also good to see Kamara doing well at Portsmouth and great to see that he has such a supportive manager there.
Yes great point Gil, Kamara is another name, who’s thriving at Pompey.
Agree with what you say, thank you for reading Gil.
Steady Will. The Pompey manager has had to come out in support of Kamara after he was getting dog’s abuse from some so called supporters! Apparently he has been inconsistent, like most young players and Pompey fans, like some of ours, want it perfect NOW.
As usual many thanks for your excellent updates!
Oh sorry mate, I know there was some positive reports earlier in the season.
I checked to see if Abu Kamara would be blocked by Idah. I thought not unless he improves on 1 goal from 15 appearances. Even Idah has managed better (4 from 14 including 2 in the Plymouth debacle) although Idah is now probably behind Huang now he showed a composed clinical finish at Sunderland. The closest Idah has come recently was to lift over the bar a tap-in against Leeds at 2-1, just after that OG from Duffy got Leeds back in the game. I looked but it wasn’t in the highlights.
Nice Poignant piece Will, and fellow contributors.
This trend of letting past their sell by date players, block the advancement and opportunities of up and coming youngsters has become an enigma to me. It makes no pragmatic sense to the club in so many different ways.
Being in a minority of a handful of supporters, this was clearly illustrated for me by the Legend status given to Teemu Puki (A very good human being) . The stats show he was very ineffective for the last two seasons of his time here , Despite this when he was injured , ,he would be back on the pitch when fit the very next game, irrespective of how well his replacement had performed in his absence.
This must be disheartening for any youngster hoping to advance his career . Maybe Adam Idah would have benefited had he been given a fairer throw of the dice, which we supporters could have benefitted from this season. For me Will this proves your point regarding our Super Tanker defenders, that when youngsters have given a sterling performance and then not even included on the bench at the next game something is badly wrong. It seems so much like the famous line from Animal Farm “We are all equal but some are more equal than others”. Or worse could it be that some players have Mafia friends; resulting in David Wagner waking up to find a Horses Head in bed next to him!
Thank you David, really good thoughts there. Agree with what you say!
Tomlinson ,Hills and Warner, or Gibson , Duffy and Hanley. Pick your 3 centrebacks for the squad.
My three would be Gibson, Tomkinson & Warner. Give Brad another year on loan.