Norwich City forward Jonathan Rowe has signed a new contract at the club through to the summer of 2025.
After progressing through the club’s academy, Rowe recently made his first-team debut against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
“I’m very happy,” he told canaries.co.uk. “All the hard work and countless hours of training and matches have led up to this point. This is just the beginning, so I’m looking forward to getting started.”
The 18-year-old has nine goals and seven assists in 15 Premier League 2 Division Two games for the Under-23s so far this season.
He has either scored or assisted in each of his last eight PL2 matches since mid-October.
“This season has been one of the greatest seasons for the Under-23s,” Rowe said. “I’ve got to give credit where it’s due, Tom Dickson-Peters and Abu Kamara are amazing teammates. The assists and goals have been rolling in.
“Recently, the new manager has come in and I’ve been on form, scoring goals, getting assists and playing well. It was a real honour to get that call-up and that first-team involvement. I couldn’t stop smiling!
“It was a surreal moment when I came on against Crystal Palace and I thought I was dreaming. Stuff like that, you can’t really put into words.
“The motivation I’ve got from that is unreal. It’s made me that one step hungrier to achieve my goals. When I came on, all I wanted to do was make an impact, and I think I made a positive impact to the fans and the players around me. If I can do more of that and contribute to more goals and assists, we’ll see what happens.”
Norwich is a special club to Rowe for a number of reasons, and the pathway he saw players taking from U23s to first-team kept him believing that he’d achieve the same.
“Norwich is the first club I signed for,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to have a scout at my school back in Wembley. He sent me to a local Sunday league team with lots of people who have helped me with my career, even to this day. Next thing you know, I’m having a six-week trial and getting signed straight away for Norwich.
“At Norwich, we’re really together. Nobody is shy to say hello to the other coaches, players or staff. Everyone is really well-mannered here, which makes it easier for us to develop on and off the pitch as people and players. That’s the best of both worlds and, in my opinion, that’s what has got me here today.
“Todd Cantwell, Max Aarons and Ben Godfrey set it off for academy players going through to the first-team. From then, I knew that I had a chance. As long as I believed in myself and kept dedicating myself, that gave me the extra belief to make a first-team appearance.
“I’m trying to test myself against the best. I’m looking to be more in and around the first-team and see what the future holds.”