Max Aarons is at a career crossroads: ‘There’s a right time to move on in everything’

Max Aarons is at a crossroads.

He’s also in Dubai when The Athletic speaks to him, enjoying a brief break (albeit one including 7am training sessions) before joining up with England to start preparations for this summer’s Under-21 European Championships.

The time away is giving him a moment to pause before a summer that could yield huge change.

At 23, Aarons has made more than 200 senior appearances for Norwich City across five seasons, experienced two promotions, two relegations and two managerial changes.

With one year remaining on his contract, both he and the club that has been his home for the past seven years (since joining the Norwich academy in 2016) recognise the time is now right for Aarons to move on.

Why?

“I think he’s outgrown the club,” said sporting director Stuart Webber this month. “I think he’s ready to go and he needs a new stimulus now.”

Aarons agrees. “Stuart communicated those thoughts with me and my family and we share the exact same view,” he tells The Athletic.

“I do feel it’s the right time for me now to pursue that next chapter. I’m highly ambitious as a player to go play at the highest level. I’ve got aspirations of playing for the England senior team and in the Premier League and I do need to take that next step to be able to do that.”

This is no “get me out of here” plea — more of a recognition that it now suits all parties involved for Aarons to test himself in a new environment.

The England Under-21 international has never been scared of stepping into the unknown. At the age of 14, he made the decision to leave Luton Town’s academy and work with a coach (Saul Isaksson-Hurst, who had coached at youth level for Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea) on a one-to-one basis.

“Looking back it was a bit risky, coming out of football and wanting to better my own game and work with a one-to-one coach. It was definitely expensive for my dad,” he smiles. “But my parents massively supported me and helped me to be able to do that. I just felt at the time I wasn’t developing how I wanted to in a team environment and felt it was what I needed.”

Two years later, just as Aarons was finishing his GCSEs, Norwich invited him for a trial and quickly signed him up to their academy. But by 18, he had caught the eye of manager Daniel Farke, who gave Aarons his senior debut in September 2018.

By the end of the 2018-19 season, the young right-back had started more than 40 league games, playing a key role in helping Norwich win promotion to the Premier League.

“Every season has been an unbelievable learning experience,” says Aarons. “That first season all I knew was winning game after game in the Championship. Then suddenly you’re up against very good teams that have spent a lot of money in the Premier League. And it’s about: how do you come back from two or three losses on the bounce? How do you cope when everything’s not easy? And then, how do you come back from your team being relegated?”

Why does Aarons think he was able to cope with the rapid transitions, both from academy to senior football and from the Championship to the top flight, so well?

“It was down to the boss,” he says, before catching himself. “Daniel,” he smiles, for Farke has not been the Norwich boss since November 2021 when he was sacked after Norwich lost 15 consecutive Premier League games. “He was unbelievable with me. Not just for my game but in terms of off the pitch, helping to improve me mentally in terms of an arm around the shoulder when needed.

“When I came in and made my debut and played really well, I remember thinking to myself that, naturally, there’s going to come a game where I’m not at it 100 per cent. And I wanted to see how he (Farke) would react.

“Then we played a home game, I can’t remember who it was against, and I didn’t play the best. He just took me to his office and said: ‘Listen, I know you’ve not had the best game, but I want to see your reaction on Wednesday night when you go again’.

“Some managers might think: ‘He’s only young, let’s take him out, give him a rest’. But he never did that. It gave me the confidence to go and perform again. Gave me the confidence to know that, if I try exactly what he wants from me in a game and it doesn’t come off, I know I’ll still get a second opportunity to repay his trust in me.”

At the end of Aarons’ first season in the Norwich first team, he was selected in the Championship team of the season and awarded the 2018-19 EFL young player of the season award. His form attracted interest from other clubs — something he has since become accustomed to.

“Looking back now I know it would have been really, really silly to have done that (left Norwich) because I’d be going somewhere to just basically stop my development, or stop playing at such a young age. After only playing 40 games I wanted to kick on. To play in the Premier League for the team that gave me my chance and repay the faith that Stuart (Webber) and Daniel (Farke) had shown me.

“As the years go on, while I’m playing such a consistent level of football at a team which gets the best out of me, it’s really, really hard to just chuck that away.”

During his time at Norwich, Aarons has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Barcelona (who chanced their arm with a 2020-21 loan offer and option to buy). The constant speculation over his future at such a young age has, he says, been “a massive test”.

“Being linked to some massive clubs obviously comes with its benefits but it can affect people’s performances if you read into it too much. I’ve always tried to look at it as that side of things will get taken care of and what I can control is the on-the-pitch stuff; going in every day and working as hard as I can.

“Though that’s easier said than done because you’re going to get asked ‘What are you doing? What’s the next step for you? What’s the right path for you?’. But Norwich have been great with me in that sense. During the transfer window, they’ve always set out a plan for me in terms of how they see me fit in. And if any one of my family has wanted to know about a certain situation, they’ve always had those conversations.”

Did any of those moves come close to getting over the line?

“There’s obviously been real situations that have happened in the transfer window over the course of the five years. But with me being so young and near enough playing every game of every season I’ve been at Norwich, that’s a massive thing for me; how often and how regularly I’m going to play.

“Norwich were always clear with me on the fact they had a number they would sell me for and if that’s not met then we’ll continue our journey until the right time comes. And that’s how we’ve both viewed it.

“I think we understand that time has been getting closer to the point where we feel I need to kick on and I can’t really do that and develop — even with more games — where I’m at. The club and I both recognise that it’s the right time now. We always said along the journey that there will come a time where we both feel like it’s the right time to make that step and for sure, we do.

“But over the course of the last five years, when things haven’t happened, there’s never been an ounce of disappointment because I know it’s such a great club that I’m at and such a great development path for me.”

Whatever comes next, Aarons is focused on continuing that development somewhere he can be a “valuable member of a team and make a strong impact — somewhere that is similar to me and my qualities as a person and as a player”.

He wants to become more “ruthless” on the pitch and add more goals, more assists to his game.

“Trying to have that end product is key for me. I’ve got so much improvement to come and I want to learn so much as well. I’ll never rest and I’ll never be happy until I feel like I’ve made those steps.”

With no deal currently in place, there is no guarantee Aarons will not still be a Norwich player at the start of pre-season. Even so, he is mentally preparing himself for the possibility that he has potentially played his final game for the club which has played a critical role in his development. “There is an element of sadness there,” he says, “and it’s not just the football side, it’s the people of the club and how everything is there. Norwich has been my home for seven years now and I’ve had nothing but support and great memories from the fans there — they’ve been unbelievable with me. So there is that element.

“But equally, I know there’s a right time to move on in everything and I feel excitement as well to kick on and achieve the goals I set out in my career. I think that overrides any sadness at that chapter coming to an end.”

Aarons is at a crossroads. Destination: as yet unknown.

(Top photo: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)