Josh Sargent, Onel Hernandez and Marcelino Nunez have justifiably dominated the Norwich City discourse in recent days – but it’s another player for Dean Smith’s new-look side whose emergence has been just as pivotal in turning the tide of this increasingly promising and momentum-gathering Championship season.

Finding solutions to City’s initial raft of attacking problems has naturally been the priority but elsewhere, the relative solidity - bar a couple of early wobbles - of Smith’s backline has been a positive characteristic of this already turbulent campaign.

A player who has been front and centre of that development is a 20-year-old Irishman enjoying a truly remarkable start to his senior City career.

Andrew Omobamidele has always been a highly-rated asset at Carrow Road, signing a new contract back in 2020 before that significant additional extension until 2026 this summer.

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But even his most fervent backers would have struggled to predict the staggering precocity with which he has taken to the high-stakes Championship stage.

Omobamidele has looked to virtually waltz through City’s early games as if in cruise control at times, oozing class in possession and reading the game with a conspicuous maturity that exceeds his youthful years.

And the five-cap Republic of Ireland international is similarly developing into a vital asset away from the pitch, conducting his multiple media appearances as if a seasoned veteran and speaking with the knowledge of a man who remains firmly grounded and determined for success.

It is telling that it has often been Omobamidele, in conjunction with senior players like captain Grant Hanley and the ever-dependable Kenny McLean, who come out and face the media, avoiding those footballing clichés rampant at Premier League level and offering their candid reflections on the club’s fluctuating fortunes.

Those fortunes have been transformed over the last four games and it is Omobamidele’s performances at the heart of City’s defence that have helped inject the steel, resilience and resolve so acutely required after last year’s misfiring Premier League campaign.

Being catapulted into the febrile Stadium of Light cauldron is a daunting task for even the most experienced EFL campaigner and but Omobamidele, alongside the brilliant Hanley, passed the test with flying colours.

Of course, playing alongside Hanley, 30, will have assisted his adjustment to the gruelling demands of Championship football but equally, that should in no way detract from the visible level of personal responsibility taken on by Omobamidele at such an early age.

His leveller at Birmingham on Tuesday further outlined his value to this team and if City are to mount any form of viable promotion push, Omobamidele’s presence at the back will inevitably be crucial.

Ben Gibson – a defender at the heart of City’s dominant title-winning season behind closed doors two years ago – endured a sloppy, error-strewn return to the first-team fold against Wigan but nevertheless, the fact that Omobamidele’s inclusion is now considered a relative no-brainer among fans speaks volumes about his ability and consistent level of performances.

Of course, he is far from the finished product. While already consistently classy on the ball, effortlessly intercepting opposition passes and providing the team with additional leadership qualities at the back – he captained the side at Cambridge during pre-season after turning 20 just 26 days before – the Irish ace still sometimes has a tendency to misjudge the flight of long balls and leave Hanley or Max Aarons exposed behind him.

But as a character, Omobamidele just seems to get it – a player who is already a clear fan favourite, one of the key protagonists orchestrating the players’ jubilant celebrations in front of Tuesday’s 1600-plus away following and a man clearly so grateful for the opportunity the club have handed him.

At present, he is firmly grasping that with both hands.

Every fan acknowledges his value but come the end of this season - regardless of where the direction of his future lies - it may just be Omobamidele’s emergence, and not necessarily City’s long-awaited attacking potency, that has functioned as the most important factor in securing another much-desired return to the Premier League.