Work experience at Boots.
Cooking up a storm in a Dundalk restaurant.
Studying sports science at University College Dublin.
Emmanuel Adegboyega’s path to professional football has been a circuitous one.
In an age when talent is invariably spotted early and gifted schoolboys are swiftly subsumed into elite academies, stories such as his are becoming increasingly rare.
Adegoyega flitted between Dundalk and Drogheda United – a fact he has not been allowed to forget, amid the Louth derby rivalry – before making the breakthrough with the latter.
All the while, there was a contingency for life outside football as he combined hard graft with further education.
“Everyone has a different path,” said the 6ft3ins Irishman. “I love mine as it allowed me to grow with my friends and my family in my hometown. That’s something I cherish.
“When I was at Drogheda, I did two years at Dublin College University studying sports science and health. I had to bring that to a halt when I moved to Norwich, but it is always something I would like to go back to.
“It is a part of football I am very interested in. I’m looking over the coach’s shoulder to check my numbers and stats!
“I also did work experience in Boots and used to work as a chef’s assistant. It was a classy restaurant back in Dundalk. I was an excellent cook – in the kitchen doing steaks, chicken, carrots and all that.
“I wasn’t always being paid for football, so I had to keep myself ticking over outside the game.”
Scots at Norwich set “immense” standards
However, his talents soon caught the eye of Norwich City and Adegboyega joined the Canaries last summer, moving away from his family for the first time.
He was swiftly loaned out to Walsall and was a smash hit in League Two, scoring three goals in 14 appearances and picking up EFL Young Player of the Month for February 2024.
Reflecting on his life-changing switch to Carrow Road, the 20-year-old continued: “Everywhere you go, you should always have confidence – and I always have belief in myself.
“When I went out to Walsall, it was about proving I could do it in the English Football League, playing men’s football. After what I did there, it gave me a boost in confidence.
“Once you experience the men’s game in England, you can use that when you come back for pre-season at Norwich and being around the first team.”
Indeed, Adegboyega completed the entire pre-season with Norwich City, lining up in testing friendlies against the likes of Club Brugge, Standard Liege and Hoffenheim as Johannes Hoff Thorup begins his tenure.
He has also accentuated the positives of training alongside the Canaries’ experienced Scottish Euro 2024 contingent of Angus Gunn, Grant Hanley and Kenny McLean.
“As a young player it was good to learn from them,” he continued. “The standards they keep are immense.
“I play in a similar position to Grant (Hanley) so I just take notes off him every training session; every match I see him play. There is always stuff I can pick up and apply to my game, as a young centre-half.”
Adegboyega: I’m ready for County
And Adegboyega received a ringing endorsement for life in the SPFL from Celtic’s title- and Scottish Cup-winning striker Adam Idah, who the Hoops are seeking to tempt back to Parkhead this summer.
He smiled: “Adam just told me it (Scottish Premiership) is the place to be!”
Asked whether he is ready to be pitched straight into the starting line-up against Ross County this afternoon, he added: “Of course – I have told the gaffer that.
“I am ready to hit the ground running and hopefully I can thrive.”
Conversation