Jonathan Tomkinson has experienced his first two senior appearances with Norwich City this season and was rewarded long-term with a new contract extension.
Tomkinson signed a new contract with the Canaries on Wednesday, which keeps him locked up through 2024, the club announced. His contract also includes a club option until January 2025.
“I’m really pleased, I think it’s a reflection of my hard work over the last year,” Tomkinson said. “I’m really happy to be presented with a new deal, and it’s time to kick on now. It’s really important [to play for the first-team], that’s a big part of my dream checked off, but I can’t be complacent. I want to keep playing more games and to keep fighting to get a spot in the team.
“It’s a really great environment to be a part of, the boys are all really welcoming and there’s not been a bad moment for me to be honest,” he added. “They’re all willing to help me learn every day, I feel like it’s a place I can grow.”
The 20-year-old made his first two senior appearances for Dean Smith’s side in EFL Cup matches against Bournemouth and Birmingham City. He has previously captained Norwich City’s Under-21 side, totaling three goals in 56 combined appearances in the Premier League 2 Division.
A former U.S. Under-18 and Under-17 national team player, Tomkinson is the second American player on Norwich City’s roster, alongside USMNT forward Josh Sargent. He has featured previously as a centerback and right back within Norwich City’s academy.
“We’re really pleased with Jon’s development,” Smith said about Tomkinson. “He’s now a fully-fledged member of our first team group and we’ve been really impressed with his qualities in training. He is yet to make his first league appearance for the club, but we were all impressed during his appearances in our cup fixtures against Birmingham City and AFC Bournemouth.
“He’s going to be a top centre-half for the football club and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with him.”
Tomkinson most recently played 90 minutes for Norwich City’s U-21 side in a 2-2 draw with Stoke City. He was on the bench for the Canaries’ EFL Championship opener against Cardiff City in July, but since has remained with the U-21’s.
When Norwich dropped down last season I was hoping that Tomkinson would get more opportunities with the first team this season. There’s still hope that he’ll pick up minutes this season. Regardless he’s a quality prospect that USMNT fans should be keeping an eye on for the 2026 cycle.
After this WC we’ll hopefully get a real Manager and that should insure Long & Zimmerman are done. Leaves M. Robinson & Richards as the primary options (both of them with history of injury concerns) and a handful of guys with mediocure track records (CCV, EPB, McKenzie, & Sands). There should be a real open competition for all 4 CB spots. This should include Pierie, Trusty, & Tomkinson.
Hopefully they can get a little farther in the FA Cup that will get him some more minutes. If Norwich goes up next year he’ll be loaned back to League One or Championship. Then they’ll see from there. English are generally very slow with their progression of youth players. I could see him going to League One in January as a possibility as well.
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Tomkinson plays in Premier League 2, and only 3 times. There is no logical justification for saying he should be in the competition for spots after the WC. Pierie was a regular starter for Ajax 2 years ago and missed all last year with injury. Now he’s been demoted to Jong Ajax and hasn’t even dressed for the main club, and of course has rebuffed the US multiple times in the past.
Justin Glad, Sam Rogers, Jackson Regan, Brandon Craig, Kobi Henry, Joshua Wynder, Henry Kessler, Justin Che, and/or dual National to a college player, to a player cut from the youth squads may show up next cycle. 4 1/2 years is a long time from now. Friendly reminder- Miles just suffered his 1st major injury. Look at the minutes played for him & Richards and it’s not even close. Miles has no history of major injuries. This 2026 WC talk is so unrealistic. If I learned anything from ‘20, is that life isn’t promise to any of us!! We talking ‘26 WC, and some of us won’t be here to see it. The WC of ‘22 ain’t even happen yet, and people continue to pump up ‘26. People to young to understand the value of life, post or talk like this. If you’re grown, and keep talking about WC ‘26, clearly someone is deficient in attention. No one else in any other sports fandom is concerned about what their team is going to look like in 4 1/2 years. Only soccer 1st people.
It’s, I think they’re referencing Miles getting hurt in the training session after the 7-0 victory over Cuba in 2019. ATL was done for the season so he didn’t miss any MLS he was still out to start 2020 but only missed 2 weeks because Covid postponed everything. So he missed 2 club games and 4 NT matches with a hamstring but he was out 6 months so with different timing it would have been worse.
I’m also referring to the type of injury he has right now. Long had the same injury, was out for a year, been back for a full season and yet has not returned to the same form he had pre-injury and nothing I’ve seen in his play leads me to believe he’ll ever return to what he was.
That’s why I’m worried about Miles beyond this WC. Miles was not known for his distribution, but rather his speed & other physical attributes. If he can’t return to where he was pre-injury he’ll be overtaken by someone else.
Robinson is 25, Long was 29 so recovery could look different for the two of them. Just sayin.
a “real manager”, as opposed to what, a fake manager? Listen, I get that Greg has work to do to get the bad taste out of fans mouth after the September window, but this continued effort by many to overlook the fact that our players aren’t showing the qualities that many have propagated as undeniable and “class”. When you’re working with a group of players that can’t stay healthy, who can’t stay fit or in form bc of irregular minutes at their clubs, you’re left with inconsistent lineups and thus inconsistent play. Greg ain’t perfect, and I’ve already stated that he needs to simplify the tactics, so this is not me “taking up” for him, but what I won’t do is let slide that our players have been propped up bc of the clubs they play for, but their play has left a lot to be desired for several reasons. I think we’ll be totally fine come Qatar, resembling more of the team that played at Azteca, than what we saw last month where it was clear tinkering was being had tactically, and depth pieces being relied upon more once again bc of injuries and form
Gregg may be a decent “Club” manager, where he has the ability buy players to fit his system and unlimited time to drill players on how he wants them to play. But even then he’s still only had mediocure results.
As a National Team manger the dynamics of the job change drastically. You only have the players in your pool (no buying or trading). You have a very limited time with them on a very sporadic basis (injuries, club conflicts, etc). You therefore pick a System that gets the most out of the talent you have available. Not pick players who might be able to fit your system. This is where Gregg has shown time and again that he’s a Poor International Manager….because he fails to change formations and tactics that allow the players in the pool to thrive.
You point to the Team that played in the Azteca as what we should strive for…and when everyone’s healthy, game fit, and on point….I agree I see no reason why we can’t be that team. However, Gregg used the same formation & tactics in the Game in Panama, @ home against El Salvador, and again in the most recent friendlies with lower caliber players and was embarrassed. I don’t excuse the players when they’re at fault or play poorly (like Gregg often does…Roldan, Long, etc…), but when it’s clear that your game plan isn’t working and you make no tactical changes a good % of the blame is on the Manager. Because he failed to use what was available in a more efficient manner. In the most recent friendlies both opponents basically dared the CBs to possess the ball and blanketed the outlet (Adams) forcing them into predictable passes that they could pick off. If he’d changed formation from his 4-3-3 we may have been able to open up different passing lanes and been less obvious. But he didn’t. Gregg is too committed and refuses to change tactics/formation as well as being too tied to players who’ve shown repetitively that they are unable to compete at the international level (Long, Roldan, Morris, Arriola, Bello, etc….). Gregg has failed this team, and until recently most have let him side….made excuses for the poor performances, tactics, and player selections (favoritism). But only once it was too late to make the changes necessary to yield anything useful. My worry is that USSF will allow Gregg to continue after the 2022 WC.
Lost, what you don’t understand is that Gregg doesn’t care about friendlies. Your right we’ll probably see some of the tactics employed by Japan and Saudi Arabia. So Gregg let the guys see if they could get it right, because the result didn’t matter. Against Saudi Arabia which actually used some very different patterns to try to break down their low block. They didn’t come off because Wes’s touch and timing was a little rusty and Reyna got hurt. But you seem to think if the lineup graphic says 4-3-3 it’s the same as 2019. For you these friendlies were life or death proof of how the team will do in Qatar. For Gregg and the group they were training sessions.
Lost in Space, you do understand and you are 100%. correct.
Mr. Thomas,
“this continued effort by many to overlook the fact that our players aren’t showing the qualities that many have propagated as undeniable and “class”. ”
Overlook what? It’s a collective failure.
It’s Gregg’s job to get the eligible guys to show those “qualities.”
Injuries and clubs not releasing players and so on? Gregg is expected to be able to adjust for that whether by using other players or other tactics.
If the players do not bring their best game to the USMNT from their clubs and Gregg doesn’t find a way to get it out of the entire player pool and form a competitive unit, then Gregg has failed and so have the players.
But it’s a lot easier to find a new international manager than to find new international players.
The USMNT is a team and is an inseparable combination of the two, Gregg and his players. Both of them are underachievers.
You judge a team on their overall body of work. And overall, this edition of the USMNT’s most consequential achievement is finishing third in CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying.
That tells you what you need to know about this team.
All that money and all those resources and the best group of players in CONCACAF, a criminally poor and weak conference and the best Gregg and his players, bound together inextricably, can do is win the participation trophy.
This is a very talented group of underachievers led by Gregg who, to date, has proven incapable of getting anything more out of them, for whatever excuse you all can come up with, than a third place finish in a ridiculously weak competition.
Many here think JK was a crap manager but he finished first in the same competition with an allegedly weaker player pool.
Could Gregg do better with better players? Maybe.
But to prove that, you’d have to leave him in charge for the 2026 cycle.
And how many of you really, really want to do that?
They may replace Gregg rather than replace the entire player pool. But the USSF are pretty cheap so they may not be able to find a more affordable manager for their desired price point.
I’d say it’s 50/50 he stays regardless of what happens in Qatar.