- Norwich City have a rich history of developing players through their academy.
- Darren Huckerby enjoyed an incredibly successful time as a player at Carrow Road.
- The Canaries once had a young star who looked primed to be their new Huckerby.
Norwich City supporters have enjoyed an almost endless stream of successful academy graduates in recent seasons.
The likes of Max Aarons, Todd Cantwell, Jamal Lewis, Andrew Omobamidele, Jonathan Rowe, and Adam Idah all came through the academy before leaving for good money.
Errol Mundle-Smith made 13 appearances in the Championship under Philippe Clement this season as the newest academy star to break into the first-team.
It does not work out for every single promising young player, though, as there are so many things that have to go your way to make the transition from academy talent to first-team star.
Norwich had their next Darren Huckerby in the making
Darren Huckerby was a terrific player for Norwich, scoring 48 goals and providing 33 assists in 203 matches in all competitions.
And the Canaries once had a young player in their academy who looked primed to be the next version of Hucks on the wing.
Glenn Middleton joined the Canaries as a 13-year-old from Northampton and rose through the ranks to make it through to U23 level.
The Scottish forward, who is a right-footed left winger, looked like an exciting prospect with his pace and direct play down the flank, reminiscent of the way that Huckerby used to play at Carrow Road.
Middleton scored eight goals in 52 U23 games for Norwich, while also scoring 15 goals for Scotland at various youth levels.
He also made the bench against Southampton for an FA Cup game in January 2017.
However, despite the promise he had shown for Norwich and Scotland, the Canaries opted to release him in the summer of 2018.
Glenn Middleton on his Norwich City exit
After leaving the club to join Rangers in Scotland, Middleton explained that he could not understand why he was released.
The winger said: “I was the most shocked you could ever be in a situation when Norwich told me I could go. Not in an arrogant way at all. Just by how it came about. But now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Because I’ve learnt that’s how brutal football can be. It’s set me up for the future and hopefully something like that never happens again.
“I was told certain things by Norwich. Then I was drawn into a meeting and told I wasn’t their cup of tea any more.
“Things had changed at the club. They didn’t fancy me and that’s football. At the time I was confused, as other people were.”
Football is a game of opinions and the powers that be at Colney decided that they did not want to continue his development at the club.
Where Glenn Middleton is now
After a healthy return of five goals and five assists in 29 first-team games for Rangers, Middleton enjoyed loan spells with Hibernian, Bradford, and St Johnstone.
The Scottish forward then spent three years at Dundee United between 2022 and 2025, scoring 12 goals and providing 20 assists, before joining Doncaster Rovers last summer.
Middleton, who is now 26, ended the 2026/27 campaign with one goal and six assists in 46 games in all competitions.
Whilst the attacker did not go on to fulfill his potential at Norwich, he has racked up 98 appearances in the top-flight in Scotland and scored in the Europa League.
Middleton, who still has time on his side to make further strides, has had a very solid professional career, which is great to see.
While he did not become a success at Norwich, the Canaries can still be proud of the fact that they played a key role in his development, with five years at Colney.
