Imps forward Jovon Makama has signed a new three-year deal to commit his future to the Imps until 2027.
This comes on the back of a great run of form, with supporters voting him Man of The Match on Saturday after his leading role in the win over Leyton Orient – including scoring the opening goal. Remarkably, it was the striker’s 50th league appearance for the club, and the 20-year-old feels he is now making a real impact in Michael Skubala’s first-team.
“I’m really pleased to see that the club are showing faith in me by offering me another deal and am looking forward to seeing what the future holds,” said the Academy graduate.
“I have had a good start to the season and have made an impact in most games. Once I got that first goal, I was looking for the next one and cannot wait to score more goals and impact every game.
“I’m getting picked ahead of really good strikers and feel more established in the first team – I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Makama started alongside fellow Academy products Freddie Draper and Sean Roughan on Saturday, while Oisin Gallagher, MJ Kamara and Denny Oliver were involved in the squad on Tuesday night. Support for the young players is vital, and Jovon confessed is grateful for the reception Imps supporters give all three players.
“It’s special to hear fans right behind you on a matchday when you’re a young player, it gives myself, Freddie, Sean and other young players a real boost.
“It keeps pushing me and helps me work harder as we want to give them something back. I’ve known Freddie for a long time so it’s brilliant to have taken our goals from the youth team into the first-team and make an impact on games for Lincoln City.
“And I owe a lot to Tom Shaw, whom I worked with at Derby County as a schoolboy and is the main reason I came here. He and David Bridges coached me in the Academy and have been a big part of my development, so it feels special to now be part of the first-team squad with them again coaching me.”
While Jovon’s progress this season has caught many supporters by surprise, behind the scenes, belief has been growing in him for a couple of seasons, hence no loan deals. City’s director of football Jez George confirmed that belief.
“Jovon’s development over this calendar year has been impressive. Every young player’s pathway is different and, knowing Jovon’s character plus his ability to impact a game as a substitute, we thought his development was better served with us last season rather than being out on loan.
“Jovon has really thrived since Michael’s arrival at the club. We have a head coach who demands consistently high standards and creates an elite environment on a daily basis, with appropriate challenge and support. It has been fantastic to see how Jovon has responded and earnt the respect of the staff, players and supporters through his application, work-rate and growing influence in our team.”
Jovon entered the Academt system relatively late, coming in as a 16-year-old after being released by Derby and Jez explained how the move to City’s youth structure came about.
“We worked really hard to sign Jovon after his release from Derby County at 16 years old and could see his huge potential. He has now matured, developed an elite mentality and therefore has been able to translate this potential into consistently high-level performances in League One.
“Jovon’s physical attributes mean he has a really high ceiling so we are delighted to have agreed this contract which enables us to continue working with him and collectively enjoy the result of his continued development on the pitch.”
We’ll be discussing this, and more, in our Academy special podcast this weekend, with Ben and Chris chatting all things youth football with Sam Tillen and Callum Oakenfold, head of academy and coaching.
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