Andrew Omobamidele has signed a new four-year contract to stay at Norwich City until June 2026.
Omobamidele first joined Norwich at the age of 16 from Ireland and quickly graduated through the Canaries’ youth ranks to earn a full first-team debut in a 1-1 draw against Preston in April 2021.
The 19 year-old has since gone on to make 16 senior appearances and scored his first senior goal this season in a 2-1 defeat against Leeds at Carrow Road on Halloween 2021, which also marked Omobamidele’s first Premier League goal.
Injury however limited Omobamidele’s appearances throughout much of the season, although he did make his first international appearance in September 2021 as a substitute for Republic of Ireland in a 2-1 loss against Portugal in World Cup Qualifying.
Speaking about his decision to commit his future to the club for a further four years, Omobamidele commented: “It’s a great moment for me. It’s another steppingstone in my development and I just can’t wait to keep going at this club.
“One of my biggest aims is to just keep developing and trying to cement my spot in the starting 11 week in, week out,” added Omobamidele as he iterated that he is keen to become a regular “first team player, playing every week,” as well as amongst the first names on the team sheet in future.
Norwich Head Coach, Dean Smith added that he is “really pleased” to retain Omobamidele as he described the 19 year-old defender as “… a young player who has got an awful lot of potential.”
Omobamidele however has only made one senior appearance under Smith who replaced Daniel Farke in November 2021, yet the 51 year-old is confident of Omobamidele’s potential as he explained: “He only managed to play in one game for me against Tottenham and he showed signs of what he can become.
“I am really looking forward to working with him. He has got through his injury problems now and things are looking up for him.”
Smith also praised Omobamidele’s ability as he added: “He can be very good. He is quick, he is a good defender and he is calm on the ball.
“He is good in both boxes, as you saw with his header against Leeds. He really does go an attack the ball and he can be a goalscoring centre-half for us.”
Omobamidele will be part of Smith’s squad for pre-season as Norwich prepare for a busy pre-season, ahead of their return to the Sky Bet Championship after they were relegated from the Premier League.
Leave a Reply