Norwich City Academy player Saxon Earley has signed a new contract at the club through to the summer of 2023.
The 19-year-old has made 17 appearances for the Canaries' Under-23s team in Premier League 2 Division Two this season.
He signed his first professional contract at the club, which he has played for since under-9s level, just six months ago.
“I’ve been here a long time, so I’m very pleased because it’s my boyhood club,” he said. “I’m pleased that the hard work has paid off.
“The club’s been great. I’ll just keep working hard and trying to get to the next level. Breaking into first-team football somewhere would be my main priority at the moment and seeing where it goes from there.”
A number of City’s Under-23s have been involved in the first-team squad or gone out on loan to play men’s football elsewhere, which is encouragement for Earley.
“It gives you confidence, you go into training and matches knowing that if you put in a good performance, those rewards will come,” he said. “It shows that faith in young players.”
Previously a box-to-box midfielder, Earley has regularly been deployed at left-back this season.
“It was a bit of a shock because we had two left-backs at the start of the season and all of a sudden they were both out,” he said. “The manager came to me and asked how I felt about it and I wanted to give it a go.
“It took me a few matches to get into, but I quite enjoyed it after a while. Playing left-back became second nature and I did alright.
“I had a few hard times with the U18s with injuries so I didn’t feel like I gave my full potential, but with the U23s I’ve been given the opportunities and done the best I can. Hopefully I can keep giving that.
“I felt quite comfortable because a lot of the lads I stepped up with I’ve been with for a long while, so if one of us was having a bad game or spell, we could gather round each other, which made it a lot easier to step into.
“We’ve got a really good mix of players. We do fall out sometimes, everyone does, but we’ve got leaders, attackers and defenders, quite a close-knit unit and you can see that off the pitch as well. Outside of football, we meet up and that’s helped our results this season.”
Developing players is the primary objective of academy football, but City’s U23s find themselves second in the Premier League 2 Division Two at the time of writing, so promotion is a target this season.
“Coming towards the final bit of the season as we are now, it’s in your mind that it’s possible that we’ll be there come the business end,” Earley said. “But you always train for the next game and try not to think too far ahead. In a few more games time, we can see where we go from there.
“It means a great deal, not just for me, but for my family as well, for me to play for Norwich. My dad, his dad, and his dad have always been massive Norwich fans, so they feel great for me. I’m doing it for me and for them."