Norwich City: Andrew Omobamidele opens up on Canaries journey

The Canaries defender has starred in an in-house documentary charting his pathway from the academy to the first team after arriving from Irish side Leixlip United in 2019. 

Omobamidele played football locally but was picked out at a young age by those internally at Leixlip as a player with a high ceiling in the game. Youth coach Kenny Molloy nurtured him throughout his time in Ireland and still offers the 20-year-old advice now. 

Molloy recaps one moment in particular that has stuck with him from Omobamidele’s teenage development involving a Manchester United scout and comparisons to an Irish footballing legend. 

“There was one game in particular against arguably the best team at under-13s level; we would have been absolutely battered that day had it not have been for Andrew,” Molloy told Canaries TV in the documentary ‘Andrew: The Lad From Leixlip’.

“We were by far the second best in every single way. We lost the game 1-0. The stuff he was doing that day I still remember to this day.

“After that game, we had a knock on the dressing room door, everyone was bitterly disappointed at losing a semi final but it was actually a Manchester United scout, Larry Dunne, who came to approach us and he picked Andrew out.

“He said it was like watching a young Paul McGrath. To hear that from someone outside, because we are biased, it made us realise we had something special here.”

It wasn’t until a few years later that English clubs stepped up their interest and offered Omobamidele the chance to go on trial. 

He was unable to convince any of them to offer him a deal to step into their respective academies. 

“It was three or four clubs that I went to on trial the same summer that I came on trial to Norwich and all of them said the same ‘he’s not ready’, ‘we don’t see him becoming this or that’ or we’re not sure’. They were all half reasons,” Omobamidele recalled.

Andrew Omobamidele pictured with Leixlip United coach Kenny Molloy. (Image: Leixlip United FC)

“At that time I was thinking maybe I just need to relax and go back to school properly and study hard because all of my energy was on football.”

Molloy added: “He went on a couple of trials to the likes of Birmingham, Rotherham, Leeds and there were a couple of other clubs interested but they never took him over. He came very close two or three times he went back to those clubs.”

Then came his opportunity to move to Norwich after being spotted by the Canaries. 

After rejections elsewhere that had seen his confidence drop – it became a do-or-die moment for the then-teenager who was desperately searching his break in the game with an English club. 

READ MORE: ‘There’s no ceiling for this fella’ – how Norwich City discovered Omobamidele

“So in my head coming to Norwich, I was thinking that this was my last opportunity to come on trial this summer so this is the be-all and end-all,” he said. “I went on a one-week trial, got here and was so determined. There was nothing that was going to stop me. 

“At the end of that week, we played Tottenham away. We got beat six or seven nil. I was playing centre back and thought, ‘this could be it’.

“After they told me that they wanted to offer me a deal and when I got to the changing room, I went straight on to my phone to ring Kenny. He was over the moon.

“It was a massive relief that I didn’t have to stress. That summer was so stressful in terms of confidence for me.”

That phone call remains as memorable for Molloy as it does Omobamidele, who was bursting with pride when sharing his version of events. 

“Norwich didn’t see where he was at; they were looking at where he could be,” Omobamidele’s former coach said.

“I’ll never forget that call. He rang me to tell me the score and I thought ‘what a disaster’ but he then he said ‘Norwich are going to sign me, Kenny’. I even get emotional talking about it now, to be honest.” 

Andrew Omobamidele was rejected by several clubs before signing for Norwich City in 2019. (Image: Leixlip United FC)

Omobamidele’s last game in Leixlip saw him win silverware in the under-16 National Cup final.

The City defender captained his side and led them to a 1-0 victory. It completed a memorable journey with his hometown club. 

Omobamidele’s mother, Mide Ni Bhriain, still harboured concerns about her son’s big move to England but was quickly reassured by Norwich. 

“We came into Colney and we were met and brought around – the usual. But it there was this openness and warmness. It wasn’t clinical.

“They listened to all my concerns and worries. I was still very fearful and I was in contact with the agents about what happens if this didn’t work out.

“He was 16 coming over – am I going to have a broken teenager in two years time coming back then trying to forge a career in the League of Ireland? They answered those questions for me. It wasn’t just about his football, it was about him as a person.”

Omobamidele hasn’t looked back from that moment – progressing rapidly before making his full City debut away to Preston in 2021. 

Since he has made 50 appearances for Norwich and earned six international caps at the age of 20. The expectation is that he moves on from Carrow Road this summer for major money. 

His progress has been shaped by the knockbacks and rejections – Norwich have been the beneficiaries.