Norwich City laying the groundwork for Jaden Warner’s senior debut allowed the young defender to grasp the moment.

Warner made his first senior appearance for the Canaries in their 2-1 defeat to Premier League side Fulham on Wednesday night. He oozed composure and earned plaudits for the maturity within his display.

The defender partnered Ben Gibson and made a series of mature defensive decisions to help City look more robust after their 6-2 defeat to Plymouth at the weekend.

Warner has been training for this moment for a prolonged period of time and commended the club and its coaches for their help with preparing him.

“It’s a great day for me and my family really. It’s a massive moment and I’m grateful to the boss for the opportunity. It was a great experience and I loved it.

“I had an idea in the week – the lads were giving me a heads up and telling me that I might play so I was ready. You have to be confident. You don’t get many opportunities so when it comes you have to be ready to take it,” Warner told the Pink Un.

“After the first five minutes I just looked at it like a normal 21s game but with way more fans. I enjoyed it and I felt confident. Playing in front of crowds and for my team, I want to do that every week so I need to keep working hard and hopefully I can get into the team.

“I’ve been training with the first team for a long time now. That has given me a boost of confidence, they’ve moved me to the first-team dressing room which I’m grateful for and it shows confidence in me. I’m grateful for that.”

It’s been a long time coming for Warner, 20, who joined the club eight years ago and has been working tirelessly to follow in the footsteps of close friends Andrew Omobamidele and Jon Rowe in emerging from the academy into David Wagner’s first-team plans.

Warner is determined to ensure this is just the start of his journey and mapped out how his development will unfold from here, which could include a loan away from Carrow Road.

“Norwich has always been a club for creating pathways. You look at Andrew Omobamidele, Ben Godfrey and many others,” he said

“I’ve grown up with Jon Rowe. We got signed at the same age and Andrew signed a bit later but I played with him many times, learned from him because he’s a great player and he has achieved what I want to do. I need to keep playing more games and getting better. That’s what I want to do.

“The aim is to hopefully get in the squad and get more minutes.

“If not then in January I will look for a loan to get some first-team football. We will see what happens and I’m looking forward to it.”