“I want to have no regrets and stay true to myself.”

That’s the outlook of Stoke City starlet, Nathan Lowe, who has made a commitment to himself to develop as a player and as a person.

The 19-year-old made waves during the first half of the season on loan at Sky Bet League Two high-flyers Walsall, cementing himself as one of the EFL’s top talents.

And despite his tender age, Lowe has also been making a significant impact off the pitch. As an active contributor to many Club community projects, he was named Stoke’s Community Champion for 2023/24.

“I’m proud to help the community,” he affirms. “I’ve always wanted to help people, so offering my support to different activities in the community is a no brainer for me and it’s something I want to do more of.

“Even though I didn’t live in Stoke when I was younger, I’ve spent enough time  here to know how much the Football Club means to the fans. You can really make their day, especially the younger ones.

“I’ve done many visits in schools and have seen the joy on the faces of those children – that’s priceless. In some ways, it’s a gift for me more than them, seeing how much of an impact I can have on the community. It’s very fulfilling and I really relish that opportunity.”

Intent on maximising his personal development outside of football, Lowe has also utilised his spare time by enrolling onto a Business Management degree course, provided by the PFA.

“I’ve always been academic and having an identity away from football is important to me,” he reveals. “I’ve worked with a psychologist for a couple of months and it’s massively helped my headspace, making sure I realise that I’m a human being first and foremost, not just a footballer.

“I’m not one of those people who can go home and think about football all the time. At the training ground and on the pitch, I’m ‘Nathan Lowe, the footballer’. Outside of that, I’m just a normal 19-year-old who’s doing a university degree.

“I’m interested in learning as much as I possibly can – I find it stimulating away from the game. I think it helps me stay grounded and keeps me in a state where I can still relate to my friends, and I’m not too far gone from that world.

“There’s no denying that football is an industry where circumstances can change in a really short space of time and unfortunately, there’s not much job security in the game. Even if my career goes swimmingly and I retire at 35 having achieved everything I wanted, I’d still have to do something else.

“I think a business degree could open a few doors for me, and I haven’t got a family or any other big commitments right now, so there’s no excuse for me to put it off. It’s a three-year course, so I’ll be done by the time I’m 22 and then I’m sure I’ll probably take up another interest to keep me going.”

While his studies could open doors in the future, the England Under-19 international’s performances on the pitch have opened doors in the present.

As far as loan spells go, his time at Walsall was near enough perfect. Lowe hit 15 goals in England’s fourth tier, finding the net in each of his last five outings for the Club to surge to the top of the division’s goalscoring charts, prompting a quicker than planned return to the bet365 Stadium.

“I think I’ve developed massively,” says the prolific frontman. “The pyramid is very helpful for young players trying to pave their way in the game. I’ve gone out and got men’s experience, and I really enjoyed my time at Walsall.

“Six months is a short period of time, so I might still be at a similar level as a player, but in terms of my confidence levels and sharpness on the pitch from playing games regularly, I feel like a different player to last season, when I was coming off the bench sporadically.

“I’m feeling a lot more confident and a lot more ready for Championship football than I was at the start of the season, which is exactly what I wanted.”

Lowe’s stellar exploits for the Saddlers saw him collect some prestigious individual accolades, scooping the EFL Young Player of the Month award in October and being crowned League Two Player of the Month in December.

The talented teenager believes it’s his mental fortitude that played a crucial role in his success.

“Playing with confidence is what I have to remind myself,” he asserts. “I was scoring so many goals at Walsall because I wasn’t afraid to take shots on and I was in a position mentally where I felt like I could afford to miss.

“That’s where you get your thrills in life, when you’re pushing yourself and you’re putting yourself out there – you could miss, you could fall over, but you could also score and make thousands of people happy, so it’s just about being brave enough to express myself and take that responsibility.

“Getting the awards was great, but maybe it also showed I was ready to step up and test myself at a higher level. Now, I want to push myself further and be Championship Player of the Month. I’m not saying it’s going to happen straight away, but the more games I play, the better chance I’ve got.”

In January, the Potters youngster was recalled to his parent Club, and he wasted no time in showing what they’d been missing.

Parachuted straight into the starting lineup by new boss Mark Robins – a man responsible for the development of one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers, Viktor Gyökeres – Lowe netted just nine minutes into his return at Play-Off chasing West Bromwich Albion.

“I’ve taken a lot in from the gaffer so far,” he adds. “It's a compliment to myself that he believes in me, and it’s great as a young player to have that trust and faith from the manager.

“I feel more confident than when I was here before. Coming through the academy, it’s hard not to feel like a young player on the fringes. I’ve had to flip the mindset that I’m here to make an impact and a difference in the first-team context, so I’m trying to view myself as a new signing rather than an academy graduate coming back from a loan.

“The goal against West Brom settled me down very quickly. It just fell to me in the box and I didn’t really have time to think about it. I enjoyed the moment, but it’s made me hungry for more Championship goals.

“I want to play as many games as I can before the end of the season because it’s all about the experience. Even if I don’t score, even if my performance isn’t the best, I just want to learn by getting minutes on the pitch.

“The Championship is a higher level than League Two, so I can’t expect to be scoring every week, but the nets are the same size. I think the goals will come.”

This feature originally appeared in the Winter 2025 edition of the EFL Magazine.