Philippe Clement has expressed strong confidence in the future of Jovon Makama at Norwich City, following the young attacker’s transfer from Lincoln City for £1.2 million. The 20-year-old has made a significant early impact, yet Clement believes that Makama is only beginning to unlock his full potential.
Although he missed Saturday's 3-1 victory against QPR due to illness, Makama has quickly established himself as an important asset on the right flank for the Canaries. His impressive physical attributes, combined with a diligent work ethic, have made him a vital player as the team navigates a challenging season. Read more about Rudd Takes Helm as Norwich's Goalkeeper Coach.
Clement is closely monitoring Makama's progression and is prepared to adopt a stringent approach to ensure he reaches his top performance levels. "He has a certain profile, but for me, to be honest, I think he's at 30% of his potential," Clement stated. "He's going to be one of the ones I need to be tough with to get him to 100%." Read more about Norwich Ownership Backs Clement Ahead of January Window.
The Norwich manager is encouraged by Makama's performances thus far. "He's doing a lot of good things, but also still quite a few things that he needs to improve. He knows because we talk about that. I'm happy with what he's showing until now because I saw the images from the beginning of the season and clearly everything we talk about, he's putting effort in," Clement added.
Clement's enthusiasm for Makama's development is evident. "But it's somebody with still much more potential to make him stronger, better, faster, making better decisions. So I'm really excited to work the next months and the next years with him to get him to a really high level."
An interesting aspect of Makama's career trajectory is the possibility of him evolving into different positions. Josh Sargent, for example, has successfully transitioned from a wide position to a central striker role. While Clement acknowledges the complexities involved in such transitions, he emphasises the importance of first establishing a cohesive team structure that can produce results like those seen in Saturday's match.
"Don't confuse them too much now by speaking about other positions," Clement advised. "Let's first, as a team, that everybody understands in his position what to do. When they're doing that well, then we can start looking at people who can start to play different positions, that we can get more of a hybrid system also. Then it is now I need to first create the foundations to build the house on. So we're busy with that now."
Makama's arrival reflects Norwich's effective recruitment strategy, which has focused on identifying talent from lower leagues. However, Clement stressed that it is the individual qualities of players, rather than their league of origin, that are crucial in the scouting process. "No, it doesn't matter out of which league they come from. It's about making a good assessment of what they can bring for the future and the potential they have and the quality they showed," he explained. "That's the big challenge in recruitment to have an assessment about each league. How are they compared to the Championship in level, and what is the potential of the player to become a good Championship player, a great Championship player or a Premier League player? Those are the assessments that need to be made."
As Norwich City strives to solidify its position this season, Makama represents a beacon of hope for the club's future, with Clement committed to guiding his development every step of the way.