While Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell have been taking the headlines at Norwich City this season, it has also been an impressive breakthrough campaign for a trio of young, homegrown players at the heart of their defence.
Centre-back Ben Godfrey and left-back Jamal Lewis, both 21, have been ever-present this season, while 19-year-old Max Aarons played the first four matches before missing their 3-2 victory over Manchester City through injury.
They joined Cantwell in receiving their Premier League Debut Balls, marking their top-flight breakthroughs after winning promotion from the Championship together.
Aarons and Lewis both came through Luton Town's Academy before joining Norwich as teenagers, and they are proud to have shared a similar journey to the top.
"I played with Jamal years back as well, so to come on a similar path and be playing on this level, at Premier League level, together is brilliant," Aarons said.
Tough introduction
The three defenders were given a tough test on their Premier League bow, losing 4-1 in the season-opener against Liverpool at Anfield, with the Reds going into 2019/20 having claimed 97 points and having won the UEFA Champions League in the previous campaign.
"The quality and the intensity was unreal," Lewis said.
"It's getting thrown into the deep end and you either sink or swim. The week after that we put in a great performance against Newcastle and showed that we belong at this level."
Godfrey, who joined Norwich from York City as an 18-year-old in 2016, praised the influence of head coach Daniel Farke, who has put his faith in the core of their Championship-winning squad.
"He fills you with confidence," Godfrey said. "He insists you go out there and express yourself. That's what you need as a young player."
