It has been a remarkable 12 months in the life of Lucien Mahovo, who has rapidly accelerated his development at Norwich City.
A year ago, Mahovo was about to return to Notts County following a brief loan stint at Ian Culverhouse’s Boston United, completely unaware of what lay ahead of him and who had been keeping tabs on his prospects.
City’s scouting of Mahovo was long in the making. He was seen as an option with potential, but his rapid rate of improvement caught even those inside Colney off guard.
As early as the autumn, word was spreading about Mahovo’s performances for the development sides, mainly centring around his impressive line-breaking passes and technical proficiency. It became quickly apparent that Johannes Hoff Thorup was excited about his prospects.
Football is about opportunities and whether players can grab them when they arrive or not. For Mahovo, the crunch period arrived over a two-week period, and he grasped it with both hands.
Prior to an impressive cameo in a testing away clash against Sheffield United, the limit of Mahovo’s involvement was three unused substitute appearances during City’s first injury crisis.
Another at the turn of the year brought him closer to the fold, and his debut arrived against the club that had opted to release him. At that stage, Mahovo was a winger and spent the majority of his academy years at Bramall Lane.
Perhaps it was fate that his senior City debut came in his home city against the club that had rejected him – but it proved to Thorup that he was ready in the here and now. One zipped cross showed his intention, and there was a constant positivity to his game.
Lucien Mahovo grasped his big Norwich City opportunity.Lucien Mahovo grasped his big Norwich City opportunity. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) A week later, Mahovo made his first Championship start in a 5-1 victory over Swansea at Carrow Road. He would go on to start the next five games, with Norwich losing only once during that run.
It felt like the youngster had elevated himself above Ben Chrisene and into pole position as City’s starting left back.
Mahovo showed that he is an all-round full back. His physicality and body shape is one hardened to the rigours of Championship football, proven by an excellent display at Vicarage Road pitted against experienced campaigner Moussa Sissoko, who has nearly 300 Premier League appearances to his name.
Within that profile is both the ability to defend deep and also press higher up the pitch. There is a comfort in possession, both through carrying the ball, but also a calmness that aided City during that positive patch under Thorup prior to the wheels coming off.
But Mahovo’s unique selling point is the quality of his line-breaking passes. It’s an effective weapon that converts deep spells of possession into attacking opportunities. They were pinpoint, purposeful and injected energy into City’s game. His deep crosses to the back post were also encouraging in the small sample of matches.
It was a whirlwind period that felt more significant than a burst of form. Mahovo was displaying consistently and appeared unfazed, even though he candidly admitted in post-match interviews to experiencing nerves.
Lucien Mahovo looked ready to play consistently at Championship level.Lucien Mahovo looked ready to play consistently at Championship level. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Adapting to life on the pitch is one challenge for any young player, and Mahovo also experienced living away from his family.
He was partnered with fellow academy player Tom Finch, but to rocket in terms of his development considering those circumstances isn’t the norm. It speaks volumes to Mahovo’s character.
In his first post-match interview, the nerves etched onto Mahovo’s face were obvious. He even asked for a heads up on the topics so he wouldn’t be caught out and could give the best answers possible. He is the type of person who is easy to root for.
Alongside Kellen Fisher, during his run of six starts, Norwich had both full-backs who had recently graduated from non-league. It is an example of high-quality recruitment from City’s emerging talent team to pluck two players from lower down the pyramid and quickly turn them into frontline options.
The quad injury that ruled him out of the final 12 matches of the Championship campaign were a disappointing end to a transformative year in his life.
Mahovo is scheduled to be on course for a return to action at the start of pre-season, but walks into a very different City than the one he stepped out of following the 4-2 victory over Stoke in February, his last appearance.
Liam Manning will be tasked with keeping his development on an upward trajectory – but in Mahovo and Chrisene, City have two young and exciting left back prospects to lead them into the new campaign.
Injury cruelly ended Lucien Mahovo’s season at Norwich City.Injury cruelly ended Lucien Mahovo’s season at Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) One aspect that will need to be strengthened is his durability and fitness, with Mahovo unable to complete 90 minutes and notably tiring during matches.
A full pre-season will aid that process. Along the way, there will come unique challenges and dips in form. There will be adversities and struggles, but Mahovo will need to meet them head-on, as he did during his emergence at the start of the year.
Now that he has a taste for senior-level Championship football, he must squeeze the accelerator and continue to show his qualities.
That is an exciting prospect for City, who could have a real prospect on their hands if he follows in Fisher’s footsteps.