Former Norwich City youngster happy for life to be a grind at Millwall 

By Richard Cawley

Harry Toffolo is doing everything in his power to land himself an extended stay at Millwall – with the extra pressure of a young family to support.

The 22-year-old left-back arrived at the end of the January transfer window to provide competition for James Meredith and also fill the gap left by Tony Craig’s switch to Bristol Rovers.

The Lions effectively took over the former England under-20 international’s deal at Norwich City, which runs until the end of June. So far Toffolo has missed out on being part of Neil Harris’ matchday 18 along with the likes of Shane Ferguson and Ben Thompson.

“I’ve put all my eggs in one basket – I’ve got to go for this now and throw my life at it,” he said. “I’ve got to put in that extra work to give the manager food for thought.

“I’ve got two boys, one is 18 months and the other is 12 weeks, and I’ve got to grind in my career. As a Millwall player you have definitely got to grind and work hard.

“I’ve known for a while now that I wasn’t going to get a new contract at Norwich, ideally I could’ve gone a year ago, cracked on with my career and got an opportunity like this. But I was under contract.

Thankfully Norwich let me go and I’m a Millwall player – no strings back at Norwich. They want to develop me and I want to develop here.

“On deadline day I could have gone on loan and there were some permanent deals that fell through. I knew the gaffer here had an interest in me for a few years but it never quite got across the line before.”

Toffolo’s agent is Scott Barron, who not only played in his position but also represented the Lions and played over 100 times before moving on to Brentford in 2012.

“He sold Millwall to me but then I also spoke to the gaffer on the phone the day before I came down and I was so impressed,” said Toffolo. “I felt he could improve me and I wanted to work with him – a lot of the other lads here talk about his strong mentality, that you want to work for him because of his hunger for the game. It was infectious.

“Scott played as a left-back and gives me tips. But at the end of the day, he can’t earn me a contract. I’ve got to go and do that myself.

“I respect Scott’s input massively. He has played a lot more games than me at Championship level. I’d be silly  not to listen to him. He watches a lot of my games and will be brutally honest if there are bits to work on.”

Toffolo won the FA Youth Cup with Norwich – scoring twice against Millwall on their passage to the final – and has had loans at Swindon Town, Rotherham United, Peterborough, Scunthorpe and Doncaster. He said: “I was at Norwich since the age of 13 and they went from League One to the Premier League – you can get stuck in a bubble. Lots of lads fall out of the game because of that, they don’t go out on loan.

“They increased the age of reserve football to under-23 and that is seeing Premier League clubs hold on to players for a longer time.

“I was out at 19 and there were lads in the dressing room with mortgages. I’ve seen a lot – even if I’m only 22. I feel like I’ve been around the game a long time.

“It annoys me when I see some young lads driving a nice car at 17 or 18. I think ‘just grind’. I know I wasn’t like that because my parents would never let me do it.

“Even from me being a scholar four years’ ago the game has changed massively. If you can’t go out on loan and learn then you are going to fall by the wayside.”

Toffolo is an ambassador for Dementia Friends. His grandfather suffered from the condition.

He has auctioned off his shirts for charity – the idea sparked by a fan saying he would contribute to charity.

“I was giving it away free and they gave £200 to charity. Every little bit helps, whether that is a pound or £1,000.

“I do a lot of it in my spare time. I did it at Swindon and the fans’ trust there paid to extend my loan. I don’t post it on social media if I go to a local school and donate £500. My partner is doing a run for charity, as a family we like to give back.

“Dementia affects an awful lot of people. I think there is more recognition now that it is not just old people going dolally – it is a serious condition. If I can help affect one person that is mission accomplished. This one is very close to home for me.

“I’m not saying my nonno [Italian for grandfather] didn’t have support but if I can help be that support for someone whose grandad, granny, dad or son is going through that then brilliant.”