Neil Adams is not surprised to see former Norwich City trainee Tom Adeyemi performing well
Wigan Athletic's Emyr Huws holds off challenge from Cardiff City's Tom Adeyemi during the Sky Bet Championship match at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire. - Credit: PA
Three former Norwich City players could face the Canaries at the Cardiff City Stadium this afternoon, all of whom are well known to City boss Neil Adams.
Goalkeeper David Marshall was a popular figure during two seasons at Carrow Road after signing from Celtic in the summer of 2007, before joining Cardiff for around £750,000 when City were relegated to League One in 2009.
Anthony Pilkington only recently swapped Norfolk for South Wales, in a deal approaching £2million, after three seasons of ups and downs in the Premier League.
Yet it is Tom Adeyemi who is best known to Adams, having watched the midfielder learn his trade with the club's academy.
Adeyemi was one of the club's brightest prospects and was named the League One Apprentice of the Year at the 2009 Football League Awards but was unable to force his way into the first team due to the club's rise to the Premier League under Paul Lambert.
After loan spells with Oldham and Brentford, Adeyemi joined Birmingham City on a free transfer and was voted the Blues' young player of the year last season, leading to a transfer to Cardiff believed to be worth £1m plus add-ons.
'That was Tom's decision at the time,' Adams said of the 22-year-old's exit from Carrow Road. 'I coached Tom in his junior years, excellent player, excellent attitude, fantastic person.
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'Tom was the role model, he was the head apprentice and we used him as the role model for the rest just because of the way he went about his business.
'Not surprising for me at all to see the levels he's played at. Maybe one or two people didn't expect him to play at this kind of level but he is as focused as they come and we wish him well, apart from on Saturday.'
With Marshall and Pilkington also potentially in the home team's line-up, Adams knows the trio will be wanting to remind the Canaries of their abilities.
'You tend to get that in football that you come up against familiar faces a lot,' Adams continued.
'It affects players in one of two ways. Some they can almost want to do too well and it can have a detrimental effect and others it fires them up and you want to go and show your former team-mates and managers and coaches just how good you are.
'I don't know what we'll come up against but it's always in the back of your mind as a player, it's not a normal game when you're coming up against your former team.'
