SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — He may not be wellknown to many Jamaican football enthusiasts, but Jamar Loza has been making a name for himself in England.

Loza is considered to be a rising star at Norwich City. The 21-year-old was born in Arnett Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica, before moving to the United Kingdom as a child.

He was a part of the Norwich City youth team which won the 2012- 2013 FA Youth Cup, but spent most of last season on loan at Coventry City, Leyton Orient and Southend United.

He was recalled to Norwich in April last year and made his senior debut as a second-half substitute in City’s last game of the season against Arsenal. They lost the game 0-2 to confirm their relegation, but Loza signed a two-year extension to his contract with the option of a further year and has since been moving up the ranks.

“The experience is great; every time I play I learn new stuff about how to play a different style of football. I am still young and I am still learning because you can never learn too much and I want to take in as much as I possibly can,” he told the Jamaica Observer. Loza opted to leave Greig City Academy in North London to focus on his career as a professional player.

And the decision by the centre forward proved right as Norwich regained promotion to the upcoming English Premier League (EPL) season.

“It (playing in England) is very different to Jamaica in the sense where it is more tactical. It is kind of rough in a way, but it is a good league to be playing in — that is why we love it so much because it’s a professional sport, so you have to sacrifice everything else to do it,” he noted. “It was a big step, but at the same time I don’t feel pressured by it.

Playing professional football is a joy for me, so I am more than prepared for it (EPL), and it should be an interesting season,” he continued. “I want to play at the very top level: Champions League football and everything. I have high hopes for myself, but then again, I still have to work hard…. I still have a lot of things to improve on to get my game level up to make sure that happens.

So I am willing to do whatever it takes,” the smooth striker insisted. Loza earned his first senior Reggae Boyz call-up by head coach Winfried Schaefer last year for an international friendly against Egypt in London. He made his debut as a substitute replacing Simon Dawkins in the 84th minute, an experience which came a lot earlier than expected.

“It was a good experience and one that I wasn’t expecting so soon, but when it came I was determined to take it and make good use of the opportunity. It taught me that once you work hard you will achieve a lot more than expected, and I am looking to play with the senior team once more,” he explained.

But the fleet-footed striker, who was instrumental in the Under-23 Reggae Boyz’s victory over St Lucia in the Olympic qualifiers here on Wednesday, pointed out that there is still a lot more left for him to achieve.

“My aspiration is to be the best I can be; and that is what I am focused on right now. I think the team is ready and we are prepared mentally to create history,” the 5’10” player assured.