Jovon Makama's Impressive Championship Debut
Jovon Makama has made the step up from League One to the Championship like a duck to water and still has plenty more gears to go through.
Arriving from Lincoln City last summer in a £1.2m deal that broke the Imps record sale, the 22-year-old was tipped to begin life as an understudy to Josh Sargent and Mathias Kvistgaarden.
While it is important to factor in that Makama was still in the infancy of his career, his goal return at Sincil Bank was modest at best, with 15 goals in 97 appearances. However, those in the recruitment ranks at Colney viewed his unique profile as a raw gem they could help to polish.
In today's game, where clubs favour lighter, more agile attackers, Makama stands out physically as something of a throwback, more in the mould of Grant Holt than Teemu Pukki.
But it was his stature that intrigued sporting director Ben Knapper, something he referenced in his signing announcement.
"He offers obvious physicality and athleticism, and he's able to operate in multiple roles offensively. He's a really interesting player, and he's someone that will offer something different for us," said Knapper.
Makama's Rising Star at Carrow Road
The athletic frontman’s explosive pace and power soon stood out, troubling tiring defenders late on as his cameos off the bench gradually grew in prominence.
After totalling just 13 minutes across the opening five Championship games of the season, Liam Manning turned to Makama to inject energy and a fearless edge as Norwich imploded at home against newly promoted Wrexham.
While the outcome remained unchanged, it proved to be the launchpad for his arrival on the Championship stage, as he netted a late consolation before making his first league start the following week away at Stoke.
Deployed on the right behind Sargent, the former Lincoln man was the standout in the Potteries, demonstrating maturity beyond his years to find the right space and finish a slick counter-attacking move.
As the Canaries' autumn slide down the table accelerated, the young forward emerged as one of the few with credit in the bank, something Makama soon cashed in on under new chief Philippe Clement.
Injury Setback and Future Prospects
Frustratingly, just a few weeks later, Makama's season ended abruptly after suffering a foot injury early in the second half against Blackburn Rovers in February.
It is hard not to feel that, had he remained fit for the final 15 games of the Championship season, a place in the top three of the Norwich City Player of the Season voting would have been nailed on.
Ten goals in 18 league starts made for an impressive debut season in England's second tier, with Makama ranking among the top 10 per cent of strikers to play more than 900 minutes for non-penalty goals.
With prolific English forwards increasingly difficult to find, Norwich are fortunate to have his services secured for another four years through the 24-month option in his contract.
It is set to be a fascinating battle in the forward department next season, with Mo Toure staking his own claim to lead the line, while Mathias Kvistgaarden will hope for a more fruitful second campaign should he remain at the club.
But those are exactly the sort of selection headaches that Clement will welcome as the Canaries target a top-eight finish. For more details, visit The Pink'un.