Norwich City and Thorup are nurturing a young, fearless group

Just as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s free-flowing Canaries look to be clicking brilliantly into gear, the top two domestic tiers take another largely undesired hiatus as Lee Carsley’s England lock horns with Greece and a certain Teemu Pukki’s Finland.

While I’m sure the majority of fans across the nation will be tuning in to Thursday night’s clash at Wembley, it’s difficult to escape the feeling that most of us - particularly those of a Norwich City persuasion - would much rather continue watching their club side in action while following the inevitable thrills and spills of the Premier League.

My desire to fulfil my live footballing fix bizarrely takes me to Bournemouth on Friday night, where England’s star-studded Under-21s take on Ukraine in their latest Euro 2025 qualifier.

It’s not a match I would normally go to - and it’s obviously a long way to travel for an age-group international - but given my company are covering it for the FA website, coupled with the fact it’s one of just two Premier League and Championship grounds I’ve not been to, I put myself down for it and am genuinely looking forward to a night on the south coast.

While names such as Morgan Rogers, Adam Wharton and Tino Livramento naturally jump out when analysing interim head coach Ben Futcher’s squad, there’s one young Lion I’ll be keeping particularly close tabs on under the Vitality Stadium lights.

Callum Doyle’s searing start to the season has seen the City star rewarded with another international call-up, a player it’s fair to say we’ve all fallen in love with since his summer loan switch from Manchester City.

The combative yet technically-gifted defender, who only turned 21 last week, has enjoyed a scintillating start to life in yellow in green and already emerged as one of the biggest assets in Thorup’s ever-improving squad.

Doyle may be the only City representative among Futcher’s Under-21s, but look one year lower and no fewer than four current Canaries are flying the Norfolk flag in Paul Nevin’s England Elite League, formerly known as the Under-20s.

Kellen Fisher has broken through into the City first XI. (Image: Martyn Haworth)

Kellen Fisher, Ben Chrisene, Kaide Gordon and Brad Hills - a late call-up after Oxford loanee Ben Nelson withdrew - are all part of the squad that take on Italy and Czech Republic.

Baby-faced Fisher has been the name on all City fans’ lips over the last few games, like Doyle, combining ability in possession with a perhaps unexpected physical edge that has seen him decisively leapfrog Jack Stacey in the right-back position.

While the emergence of Jose Corboda and Shane Duffy’s centre-back partnership has pushed versatile Doyle to left-back and therefore deprived Chrisene of recent game time, the former Exeter ace showed signs of promise in the opening few matches and alongside Doyle, even got on the scoresheet in last month’s thumping 4-1 win over Watford.

So did Liverpool loanee Gordon in Saturday’s similarly scintillating 4-0 triumph over Hull, a player who has looked a bundle of energy whenever introduced from the bench and may well have earned a starting spot over slow-starting Ante Crnac for next weekend’s trip to Stoke.

And while Hills is yet to have earned any Championship minutes this term, there is no doubting the former Accrington loanee’s ability that will likely see him blossom into a first-team regular one day.

Of course, I’m sure we’d all prefer to see City continue their momentum and these young stars strut their stuff in Thorup’s hugely exciting system this weekend.

And while the opening two Nations League performances under Carsley have been encouraging, watching England on TV at a flat Wembley and on a Sunday in Helsinki bears no resemblance to the recent joy we’ve been revelling in at Carrow Road.

But take a step back from senior level, and the prominence of these precocious City youngsters in both the Under-21s and Elite League squads should be a genuine cause for celebration.

Thorup is nurturing a hungry, bold and fearless group of players that includes some of the finest young talents this country has to offer.

So while we all battle through a frustrating Norwich City-less weekend, lets focus on the major youthful positives to be taken and the future at Carrow Road looking so bright.