According to his coach at AFC Wembley, Rowe “didn’t know how good he was” – but everyone else did.
“That’s what we liked about him, he was good but he also had that humble side,” Gary Graham told Sky Sports.
“A lot of boys in our team were good, but didn’t have that humble side and that’s why they weren’t able to step up to the next level.”
Rowe joined Norwich City’s academy in 2014 – but the move wasn’t entirely straightforward. He spent three hours a day commuting from London to East Anglia in between caring for his ill mother and helping raise his sister. He was still only 11 at this point.
Then came the injuries during his developmental years, having to tackle Osgood-Schlatter disease – a common cause of knee pain – before eventually making his first-team debut for the Canaries in 2021.
He spent the next two seasons in and out of the Norwich side before establishing himself in their 2023-24 run to the Championship play-off semi-finals, scoring 13 times.
But, with other clubs circling, Rowe decided it was time to move on.
After having several previous bids rejected, Marseille managed to sign the forward on a season-long loan deal with an obligation to buy – the fee a reported 拢17m.
Norwich were unhappy with the way the transfer played out, with Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorup saying Rowe had declined to play in their 2-0 opening-day defeat at Oxford United amid interest from the Ligue 1 club.