Norwich City youngster Josh Martin has expressed his gratitude to the club for helping him realise a dream in making his Premier League debut.
The 18-year-old’s appearance against Southampton earlier this season was his first senior appearance for the club and culminates a year of rapid progression for the winger.
“It was a dream come true, something I’ve been thinking about since I was three or four years old, so it’s a massive achievement for me,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the future now and I’m just going to work as hard as I can to keep getting more appearances.”
Martin burst onto the scene with an impressive hat-trick in the Canaries 3-2 victory over Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Youth Cup in December and he has been training with Daniel Farke’s first-team for a large chunk of the season.
Reflecting on his progress this season, Martin said: “This season has gone from me playing for the Under-18s and 23s to the first team in such a short time, so I can only be grateful to everyone here around me,” he told the club’s website.
“Everything is faster and more physical in the first team. It’s a higher level of the game so you have to get used to that. The mindset is about being more comfortable on the ball and learning how to tactically position yourself.
“I’m hungry for it and I want to go into next season with the aim of getting us back up to the Premier League,” he said. “I’m ready for the fight and I’m excited by it.”
City’s mantra over recent seasons has been to integrate players into their first-team from their academy - with Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwell all successful examples of the pathway available to youngsters at the club.
Martin is hoping to be the next talent off the production line and says he is grateful to some of the experienced professionals for their guidance this season - especially striker Josip Drmic.
“Josip (Drmic) has been really good to me and so have the other lads. I’ve got a really good bond with a lot of them now, which is good for me. You always want to have a good bond with the players when you’re in the team.”
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