New deals for City youngsters while Icelandic midfielder signs pro terms

Eight Norwich City Academy youngsters have committed their futures to the club – including one as a professional.

Under-23s players Josh Coley, Billy Johnson, Ciaren Jones, Alfie Payne, Tom Scully, Anthony Spyrou and Jordan Thomas have all signed new one-year deals, while Icelandic midfielder Isak Thorvaldsson has signed his first professional deal with the Canaries.

Coley, Johnson, Jones, Scully and Thomas signed for City in 2018 and their progress whilst playing for the Under-23s this season has been rewarded. Payne and Spyrou have been at City for much longer and will continue their development at the Colney Training Centre. Thorvaldsson has been playing for the Under-18s over the past two seasons and has been given the chance to develop as a first-year professional next year.

Academy manager Steve Weaver told the club's official web site: 'To be fair to the group, it's been a hard season but there are a lot of young ones in there. I think signing new deals gives them a little bit of peace of mind over the next 18 months.

'Going forward, these lads now have the chance to push on and reach the next step in their careers.

'The group of lads are late-developers. They've still got time to reach their best. We're hopeful if they all keep going the right way, they'll have a real chance of making it here.'

'There's no rush for any of them to go out on loan. The Under-23s are generally a young group especially with Isak and Jordan in there.

'They all have plenty of time left. We will maybe start looking at loans next season, but for now, there aim is to continue improving with us.'