ACADEMY: A week of conflicting results despite plenty of feelgood factors

01/23/2025 09:52 AM

Since last Thursday’s article, multiple academy-based topics have come to the fore, including two players making their Championship debuts. 

Lucien Mahovo and Elliot Myles came on as second-half substitutes against Sheffield United at the weekend due to the first-team squad being stretched with injuries. With Norwich set to have a lack of players returning to the first-team squad imminently, Mahovo and Myles both have an excellent chance to add to their appearance tallies – as they both did last night at Leeds.  

Mahovo continued his stellar form from the development level, into a first-team environment on Saturday, showcasing his urge to progress the play forwards. He demanded the ball off his teammates, looking to play proactive passes in attacking areas as demanded by his head coach. 

Due to Norwich having numerous first-team midfielders out injured, Myles may receive an opportunity to start a game in the next few weeks. He would likely be implemented as an advancing central midfielder, forming part of the frontline, in Johannes Hoff Throup's 3-2-5 settled possession system. 

The next home game against Swansea could be a great opportunity for either Elliot or Lucien to start, especially with the side’s fatigue levels inevitably going to drop. 

Not only has it been a positive week for Myles and Mahovo, but Uriah Djedje was also selected as part of Thorup's matchday squad. The powerful midfielder has been a consistent figure for the U21s team, playing 18 games throughout the campaign and impressing both in and out of possession. 

From the development team perspective, Brandon Forbes has had a pulsating start to 2025, accumulating two goal contributions in his opening two games of the year. 

The Scottish teenager has added those respectable numbers to strong individual performances. He looks to be a productive attacking outlet, testing his opposition full-back repeatedly by dragging him into uncomfortable positions. 

Forbes' productivity can also be seen by his willingness to create a goal-scoring action, as he's constantly willing to open his right foot, always looking to exploit angles to play a progressive pass or shoot early. This was seen against Tottenham Hotspur when the young Scotsman had approximately five shots at goal in the game. 

Forbes has been an underrated performer for the U21s, as the attacker has accumulated six goal contributions for the development side, ranking him as one of the top five contributors for the team this season. 

^{Brandon Forbes has been another strong signing from Scotland. Credit: Aston Villa.}

Moreover, the Scotsman plays each game with high intensity, particularly out of possession. Forbes is a marvellous presser in advanced areas, chasing down opposition defenders relentlessly and attempting to win turnovers in vital zones across the pitch. 

Despite the brilliance of Forbes across both of those matches, the development team failed to win their last two games; drawing against Tottenham Hotspur and then losing to Hertha Berlin in the PL International Cup.

At half-time against Hertha, Norwich were 2-0 and looking set to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition. Unfortunately, they failed to see the game out, meaning they're essentially out of it now.  

But, although the U21s had a difficult week from a results perspective, the same narrative can't be applied to the U18s who progressed to the round of 16 of the FA Youth Cup. The young Canaries beat AFC Bournemouth U18s 3-1. 

City’s U18s controlled the game from minute one, winning a penalty in seconds due to Damari Daley anticipating a loose pass. Starting the game brightly was imperative for the away side, as they hadn't played a competitive fixture since before Christmas and that promising start enabled them to implement their philosophy on the game – playing fluent forward passes through the lines and bringing their strikers into the game regularly. 

La'Sean Sealey relished the service provided to him, picking the ball up in advanced areas and running directly at the Cherries defenders. He used his feet sharply, navigating his way through tight positions to get himself into dangerous zones of the pitch.

This was evident in La'Sean’s goal, when he got the ball out of his feet successfully, before placing the ball in the bottom left corner with his weaker foot. 

Another player who excelled in the forward areas was Finn Corke. The homegrown striker was magnificent at taking his opportunities, tucking away both his penalty and second goal confidently. He scored his brace with either foot, demonstrating his composure.

Not only did Corke provide the team with key goals on the night, but he also demonstrated sublime hold-up play, contesting the opposition’s central defenders effectively by winning fouls in progressive areas of the pitch. This allowed the team to gain territory in the opposition half for longer periods of the game. 

The deciding factor across the tie was the amount of space Bournemouth conceded, with City regularly finding access into the attacking third. The Canaries were effective in entering central areas through powerful runs while exploiting the flanks frequently with penetrating underlapping passes. 

^{Norwich were by far the superior team against Bournemouth. Credit: AFC Bournemouth FC}

One player who had another tremendous showing in the FA Youth Cup, was Turkish youth international, Vatan Ozcan. The teenage defender elegantly carried the ball through the thirds, providing a regular attacking threat down the left flank. Moreover, the left-back was accurate at executing overlapping and underlapping passes towards his strikers. 

The last two FA Youth Cup victories and the first half of the season have highlighted the talent in this U18s side. Arguably, the quality throughout Greg Crane's side is the best it's been in the last five years – showing the plethora of long-term projects across the team and squad. 

The U18s team are working effectively as a collective, putting in maximum effort to achieve fantastic results. With another date at Carrow Road next Tuesday, the U18s will hope they can put on a show and defeat the Baggies to earn a quarter-final place in the FA Youth Cup.

U18/U21s upcoming fixtures:

• U18s – West Brom (H) – FAYC Round of 16 – Carrow Road

• U21s – Crystal Palace (A) – PL2 – Crystal Palace Academy