Hugill opens up on City future and sour West Brom loan

The Norwich City frontman had to engineer a January Championship loan exit, after becoming surplus to requirements at the Hawthorns. Hugill is now enjoying his football again as a leading light at a resurgent Cardiff City, under Steve Morison, as he prepares to return to his parent club this summer.

The powerhouse striker is a popular figure inside the Canaries’ dressing room, and a personality who appeared to endear himself to fans when he first joined from West Ham in 2020.

Hugill counts the 22 minutes he featured for the Hammers in the top flight as one of his two career highlights. The other is his part in last season’s dominant Championship title triumph under Daniel Farke.

Not bad badges of honour for a player who only made the professional ranks at the age of 21, and who has now been sold for more than £10m in his career.

“It's been a bit of a roller coaster, and one that I've not had time to look back on because it just keeps going and I'm just going where my career takes me,” said Hugill. “I think I will get to a point later on where I look back and hopefully feel I’ve done all right. I've done okay.

“I started at 21, professionally at 21, at Port Vale. So you can imagine from the ages of 16 to 21 I was playing non league with some men who wanted to kick lumps out of me. On one occasion I recall being told someone was going to bite my nose off.

Jordan Hugill has had to do it the hard way in his career (Image: Focus Images Limited)

"When a 16 year old hears that from a grown 30-odd year old man, I was terrified. It's not the traditional route of going through an academy, and maybe from a technical point of view not being amazing, but it's given me a different set of skills, which I've had to use to earn my stripes. I believe that has got me to where I am.

"It may only have been 22 minutes in the Premier League (at West Ham) but if you had said to me when I was 20 I would make that level I would have laughed. I could never have imagined making the Championship or League One, let alone the Premier League.

"Probably the second highlight so far would be winning the Championship at Norwich, but not only winning it but comfortably winning it as well in style. We had one of the best squads in the league and I think off the pitch as well we were the best.

"There's not one member of staff or a player who was there I wouldn't have done anything for. That was the attitude we had within that squad.”

Things turned sour for both Jordan Hugill and former West Brom boss Valerien Ismael in the Midlands (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Hugill looks back on his spell at West Brom earlier this season with far less affection. Recruited by Valerien Ismael to lead a Championship promotion fightback, he found himself on the margins and eventually seeking a way out.

Cardiff offered him another loan lifeline in January, and seven wins in his first 11 appearances suggest there have been mutual benefits.

“It is nice to show people who maybe doubt it I can be a good player. Just give me a chance and I will show you what I can do,” he said, speaking on the latest official Football League podcast. “There were times, obviously at West Brom, when things weren't going my way. I was being left out the squad, I was training on my own.

"Sometimes a little break away from football, like time with my family, my wife and daughter, helped. But I get a lot of satisfaction from chucking heavy things around the gym.

"I react in a way where I like to prove people wrong. Maybe others expect in that type of situation you will chuck your toys out the pram, but I work harder. I do extras, I’m in the gym every day.

"Some of the best times I trained at West Brom was when they were making me train on my own, and then they would get me back in for a few sessions.

"I wasn't reacting the way they probably thought I was going to react. I got my head down, worked even harder, and I came away from it thinking, ‘Well, I have done everything that I can control’.

"My psychologist was saying it's just control the controllables. You can only control what you can control.”

A mid-season loan move to Cardiff has got Jordan Hugill enjoying his football again (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The 29-year-old is keeping a close eye on events at his parent club. Hugill hopes the Canaries can still pull off a great escape, and revealed his long term goal is to be part of Dean Smith’s plans.

“As far as I know at the moment I'm going back to Norwich in the summer to get ready for pre-season and then we go from there,” he said. “I've got a year left on my contract so ideally I'd like to get promoted with them again, if they come down, and I'd like to prove myself in the Premier League. That's my aim.

“I came into the game late, so I can't afford to be sat around doing nothing. When we got promoted my immediate thought was I want to prove myself in the Premier League. That was the whole reason why I went to Norwich.

"I wanted to get back to the Premier League to show everyone who thought I couldn't do it that I can, and nothing's changed - regardless of if I'm there or not right now or even if, God forbid, they go down this year and then they go back up.

“My ambition will still be the same; to prove to people who think I couldn't do it in the Premier League that I can do. That is my motivation going forward and I will do anything for that chance.”

Jordan Hugill knew his role in the Norwich City squad that romped to the Championship title (Image: Focus Images Limited)

Hugill was a popular figure in the City dressing room last season, and key to the camaraderie that underpinned that Championship title success.

“I knew my role. I knew where I was in that team. I knew I belonged there. I believed everything that was going on at Norwich,” he said. “I was sold the club by Stuart Webber, by Daniel Farke and whenever I got time on the pitch I knew that I'd give everything. If you want to be successful not only have you got to be good on the pitch, you've got to be good off the pitch.

“For me, being a good team mate and making sure everyone's standards are high, making sure I'm pushing people and helping them improve, is also a big part of the package that comes with me.

"If you speak to any of the lads, or the staff at Norwich, not many of them would say any bad things about me.”