Glenn Middleton: Norwich City’s 16-year-old rising star

When, at just 15-years old, Norwich City youngster Glenn Middleton represented the Under-21 side, and hugely impressed, in a 1-0 victory over Villarreal, Canary followers couldn’t help but sit up and take notice. I spoke to the 16-year-old to find out more about the young Scottish talent who is being dubbed as City’s next, long-awaited, ‘home-grown’ (since 13, anyway) star.

When discussing the aforementioned Villarreal game, his performance is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he only found out he was playing a few hours before kick-off - as if playing six years above your age wasn’t impressive enough!

“The day before the game (vs Villarreal), the coaches told me that I would be in the squad - but then later in the day Norwich were informed by the FA that I was too young to play. As a result I played for the U18’s that same evening.” So, not only did he only discover he was playing hours in advance, he also played a game the night before! Middleton actually believes this lack of preparation served to help his cause, however, as it meant that “he didn’t really have much time to think about it” - allowing him to treat it as any other game. To some, playing at Carrow Road for the first time - in front of a decent crowd of 3,508 - would be a daunting experience, but not for Middleton.

Despite only really coming onto the radar of most City supporters in the past 12 months, Middleton has been at the club since 2013, when he became the first player Norwich have signed from a professional club into the academy. Back then he was representing Northampton Town - “scoring 3 or 4 goals every game” - but he saw the move to Norfolk, and the opportunity to play at a higher level, as the obvious step to further his development. As soon as he moved, he was “suddenly playing against the strongest Premier League youth sides every week” and Middleton believes that the test this presented immediately made him a better player. Norwich was not always going to be the destination, however. The winger tells me that, at that age, “there is always scouts watching games from all clubs” and, unsurprisingly, all were interested in his services. As such a decision had to be made, but it was the “family environment throughout the club” that attracted Middleton to East Anglia.

For those to whom the Scot remains an unknown quantity, he is a traditional, pacy and powerful winger. If asked for a role model or a player that he bases his game around, his answer is simple: Gareth Bale. “I’m constantly watching videos of him (Bale) to try and incorporate what he does so well into my own game” says Middleton - we’ve had the proclaimed Norfolk Messi in Wes Hoolahan, the Norfolk Cafu in Russell Martin, perhaps it is now time for the rise of the Norfolk Bale? No pressure, Glenn!

As a winger at Norwich City’s academy, Middleton is extremely fortunate; one of City’s greatest ever in that position, Darren Huckerby, plays a prominent role in the youth set-up, following his appointment as boss of the Under-16 side in 2015. In a piece on the Norwich City website during last season, Gregg Broughton, Academy Manager, discussed how much improvement Middleton has made since being able to work alongside Huckerby - a claim that the 16-year-old echoes: “Hucks has a lot of experience from all of the things he has achieved in the game and to be able to work alongside him is priceless. We always practice shooting and crossing to make sure whenever I get the chance in a game situation to either shoot or cross into the box, then I am going to be able to produce the goods.”

Debuting at Carrow Road, seeing his Twitter followers surge, receiving words of admiration from the likes of Darren Eadie and featuring in Match of the Day’s magazine’s “Twenty 16-year-old’s to watch in 2016”, it has been quite a year for Middleton. With a maturity that exceeds his age, however, he has remained grounded. “I’m not the type of person that will let these things get to my head. Obviously it is always nice to get recognition for doing well but I just like to concentrate on playing football and keep making a name for myself, for the right reasons. I set myself high targets and I always push myself as much as possible.” An admirable attitude that, with the on-field development to match, will take him far.

So, what are these high targets? At just 16-years-old talk of first-team football may seem a long way off, but it is clearly an aim that will always be lingering in the mind of any youth footballer - and Middleton is no different. In the short-term the target is to build on last season’s efforts and further cement his position as a key player in the Under-21 side, “for the coming season I want to be able to make a real impact with the Under-21s and contribute with a lot more goals and assists”. A further season or two of development in the Under-21 side and a lower-league loan, following the progression of the the Murphy twins, could be on the cards - a prospect that Middleton would not be averse too, “at a young age if you get offered the chance to play first team football, whatever the league, then you can’t fail to learn more about the game and gain experience from playing in a first team”.

This being said, if his rapid meteoric rise can continue, aided by the guidance of Huckerby, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Scot completely bypass the loan route and walk straight into the first-team: something that he clearly believes is possible.

Remember the name.