Inside Kellen Fisher's remarkable rise from Bromley to City

Few would have predicted that the England youth international would or could displace the seasoned Jack Stacey in that role in pre-season, but his performances, coupled with the tactical opportunity it presents Johannes Hoff Thorup, have made it a reality. 

A combination of crunching tackles, aggression and slick play as an inverted full-back has captured the imagination of the Canaries faithful, but it's the tip of an iceberg that has included hard work through the ranks. 

Fisher signed for Norwich from non-league side Bromley in June 2023. Steve Aris, first team coach at the Kent-based club, converted him into a full-back after spells as a regular goal-scorer and winger growing up. 

"I first came across Kellen as a 16-year-old who came into us at Bromley under a scholarship system which was education-based," Aris explained. 

"He quickly showed that he had potential, but he was a really small, skinny kid. Having time to work with him every day, his focus of what he wanted to be was paramount. His attitude was top-class.

"He was the first into lessons for his education and the last off the training pitch - that will and drive to succeed was massive, and you could see it in everything he did."

It was Aris who first spotted Fisher's potential as a modern right back after he had spent the majority of his development as an attacker. 

City signed Kellen Fisher from then-National League side Bromley in June 2023. (Image: Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo) Prior to moving to Bromley, Fisher was a striker between the ages of five and 13 and then a central midfield and wide hybrid from 13 onwards. He once won the golden boot for the London County Youth League with 38 goals. 

So the question for Aris was simple: what did he see in Fisher to decide right-back was going to extract the best of his talents? 

"He quickly jumped in our under-21s after a year here, and that's when I took him full-time. He was a right-winger at the time, and we didn't know where he was going to play.

"We tried him in midfield a few times, and then I had a conversation with him and told him that we were going to try him as a right back. He looked at me as if to say, 'Are you joking?' but he took to it, and I remember the game - he was unbelievable.

"He went into some crunching tackles, and the whole game was in front of him, and he could go link. He soon realised it was him, and that has been his position ever since.

"He was playing in mainly attacking positions but never had blistering pace to get past people, but he was so talented on the ball and had a real tenacious side, as you can see now with some of his tackles.

"Defensively, he took it straight away. He showed maturity and took to it. Defensively sound, in possession unbelievable, and he just had everything."

Fisher's rise at Norwich has seen many opt to hand him the non-league tag, but it was a calculated step designed to create a pathway to professional football from his family and those advising him. 

Prior to his spell at Bromley, Fisher had never been in a professional academy and that trait is something Aris believes has worked in his favour throughout his development. 

"We were non-league at the time and had a post-16 education academy that enables boys to come here, play football, and get their education at the same time.

"He was never in an academy and didn't have that upbringing. He came to us fresh with ideas and played Sunday football while growing up. He wasn't brainwashed and hadn't had any disappointment to get over. He did it for two years, between 16 and 18.

​"It was the year of Covid, he was 17, and we had to create a first-team bubble for our players to train full-time. He was very fortunate to be in there for three months. That escalated his development. We started to realise during that period that he had real talent.

"At 18, his scholarship finished, and we offered him a first-year professional contract, and he wasn't earning much money," he said.

Fisher made 25 National League appearances at Bromley. (Image: Alan Stanford/Focus Images Ltd) "He went out to Welling on loan first, and I remember the reports that said, 'The kid has no chance; he's too small and too slight'.

"Then he had a loan at Cray Wanderers at step three a few months later and completely excelled. He played regularly, and that took him to another level again." 

Fisher's professional debut for Bromley came in August 2022 against Altrincham, after months of Aris trying to persuade Bromley manager Andy Woodman that he was ready for a senior opportunity. 

"I had him in the under-21s for 18 months, and then I took a step up to become first-team coach, so I managed to get him in training with us constantly.

"I was nagging saying, 'This kid is good enough,' and his debut was at home to Altrincham. Their winger at the time was Ryan Colclough, who is now at Chesterfield and was the best winger at National League level at that time.

"Everyone was saying that he couldn't start against him, but he got put in - we drew 0-0 and he completely nullified him. I knew from that moment that he had the ability to play at that level. The manager needed convincing, but Kellen took his opportunity." 

Fisher went on to make 25 appearances in the National League as a teenager. His performances contained a remarkable amount of consistency and quality for a player of his age. 

That prompted interest from several clubs, with Premier League duo Brentford and Wolves among the other sides who wanted to sign him ahead of City last summer. 

"As an 18-year-old playing in the National League, then ears are going to be pricking up and eyes widening across football," he said.

"He played 25 times here in total, but halfway through that, there were scouts coming here every week. We had a list as long as our arm turned up to look at him. It was him and Ben Krauhaus.

"Norwich liked him and put a package together. He spoke to a few clubs, but once he heard what Norwich had to offer, he realised that was the one for him. The development path he had in his first year was perfection.

"He is now reaping the rewards. What he has shown this year shows that what they've done with him tactically, physically and technically has pushed him to another level. Norwich are reaping the rewards of that." 

Nobody has been prouder of Fisher's early-season performances than Bromley or Aris. The Norwich man has become an example cited to the young talent at Hayes Lane to inspire and illustrate the opportunity available to them. 

Aris is confident that this current level is not his ceiling and warns that Norwich may have a mission to keep him in the not-so-distant future. 

Steve Aris (furthest right) played a pivotal role in Kellen Fisher's development at Bromley. (Image: PA) "Knowing the kid, it hasn't surprised me. It shows his mental strength. I watched a few games where things hadn't gone well, or he was taken off at half time, but he doesn't sit and sulk or blame others.

"That's why I had no doubt when he left here that he would be a total success at Norwich," Aris said.

"The dying breed of a full-back that wants to defend has gone out of the game - so it puts him at a different level. He is a very intelligent football player. I don't think there are many full backs out there that can tackle like him - and I'm talking at any level.

"If he continues on this trajectory, Norwich might not like this, but he might go even higher. I think he has that in him."