Josh Sargent took a major step forward in his development at Bundesliga Werder Bremen last season and is already garnering praise with a new season on the horizon.
Sargent and his Bremen teammates are continuing preparations for the 2020-21′ Bundesliga season, looking for a more comfortable finish after fighting off relegation in July. The U.S. Men’s National Team striker scored on Saturday in Bremen’s 4-0 friendly win over Dutch side FC Groningen after battling back from a minor injury last weekend.
Heading into his third season with the Bremen first team, Sargent sounds likely to play a major role for Florian Kohfeldt’s side beginning this Fall.
“For me he is in pole position for the start of the season,” Kohfeldt said postmatch. “I cannot currently imagine a starting line-up on the first matchday without Josh. I just want to say: Josh is no longer the contender.”
“He has a lot in common [with the other forwards]. “He can play on the wing, he can play as a central attacker in a 4-3-3, and he can play as a second striker in a 4-4-2. He did well at the end of last season with his performance and a lot was achieved.”
Sargent set new career highs last season, scoring four goals and registering six assists in 34 combined appearances for Bremen. He registered one assist in the two-legged relegation playoff triumph over 2. Bundesliga side FC Heidenheim, while also forcing an own goal early in the second leg performance.
The 20-year-old striker also impressed with his hold-up play and passing ability in Kohfeldt’s system and stayed confident despite Bremen struggling for majority of the season. After registering over 1,700 minutes of action last season, Sargent comes into this new campaign with a lot more experience and with the confidence of his manager going forward.
Sargent’s first opportunity to find the back of the net will come on Sept. 12th against Carl Zeiss Jena in the first round of the German DFB Pokal. Bundesliga play kicks off on Sept. 19th for Kohfeldt and his players at home against Hertha Berlin.
Bremen had no possession or creativity last season…and while it doesn’t appear as if they’ve addressed their shortcomings Sargent will likely be a consistent player in their XI.
I’m hoping that once Sargent meets up with the USMNT 1st Team, most notably Pulisic & Reyna, he’ll be able to show what he’s really capable of.
I can
It is called the US Nat team.
I am happy for him, he is the ir number one option. Hope he keeps working hard and holds on to that.
Bremen had real problems creating chances last year for ANY of their strikers. I don’t see that changing this year and Josh isn’t someone who creates many chances on his own (like an Mbappe). Hope I am wrong because we really need him to bloom.
Well that’s good news for Josh. Still, it does not seem Bremen have done much to upgrade their truly unwatchable side from last season. Bittencourt seems to be doing ok but other than that it seems underwhelming.