Josh Sargent did not dress in Norwich City’s 5-1 FA Cup victory over Walsall on Saturday and we now know why.
Sargent made himself unavailable for the match due to the reported rumblings of MLS interest, Canaries manager Philippe Clement confirmed during his postmatch availability at Carrow Road. The American striker has recently been linked with a move to Toronto FC in a deal worth reportedly $18 million, per The Athletic.
“Josh sent me a message [on Saturday] evening saying he would not be available because of transfer things in his head, Clement said in an interview, transcribed by BBC Norfolk. “This is obviously not something we want, and will have consequences. It is something we need to speak about inside the club, but the club has made it really clear to Josh and his agent that he will not be leaving during this transfer window.”
Sargent joined Norwich City in August 2021 from German side Werder Bremen and has scored 56 goals in 157 appearances for the Canaries. The American forward was part of the Canaries’ last season in the English Premier League before playing each of the last four campaigns in the EFL Championship.
Sargent was previously linked with a move away from Norwich City over the summer, with Leeds United, Burnley, and Werder Bremen all reportedly showing interest. However, a deal was not agreed upon and Sargent stayed part of then-manager Liam Manning’s plans.
Sargent had started each of the last three league matches under Clement, despite missing some time due to a concussion. Jovon Makama has filled in during Sargent’s absence, recently scoring a hat trick in the FA Cup romp to take his season tally to 12 in all competitions.
Whether Sargent remains a Norwich City player at the end of January remains to be seen, but should he stay, it sounds like he will face some internal punishment from Clement for missing the club’s most recent match.
At the very least, this was handled unprofessionally by Josh and his representative(s). Frankly said, they fucked this up bad.
It is interesting that most here are defending Josh…calling him a star, that he can’t be forced to show up with a good attitude, play this dumb game, and that Norwich is in the wrong for airing their dirty laundry.
The only thing dirty here is Josh and his representative(s).
Make no mistake about it, I advocate for player’s taking control of their careers and pathways. Having said that, there is a way to do so…professionally…and then there is this way.
Josh is not a star, but he is a captain at Norwich. Not exactly great leadership on the part of Josh.
No one can be forced to do anything, but Josh is under contract until 2028 and getting paid since this is his job.
Play in this dumb game??…it is an FA Cup game…not sure many, if any, would call it a dumb game.
While it isn’t ideal for Norwich to have to discuss this in a press conference, the fault for that lies with Josh and his representative(s). Who sends a text to their Manager the day before a game saying they are not available to play because they are considering a transfer? Be an adult…be a professional…be a man…and go into the Manager’s office and engage in a professional dialogue. Many before Josh have done it and many afterward will do it.
Norwich have responded to this swiftly, directly, and clearly, so it is unlikely he is not leaving this window, but it is certain that he will get fined the maximum amount, which is two weeks pay.
Then there is the flip side of this…if you are Toronto, do you want this entitled player brought into your team and locker room?
Next, if you are Pochettino, do you see this favorably?…and want to include this player into a group where you and your staff have worked tirelessly to instill competition and in the process, remove this type of entitlement?
I agree with one thing said in one of the posts here…there is dysfunctionality at Norwich, and it starts with Josh Sargent.
How can you force a player to show up with a good attitude even when he wants out?
The beatings will continue until morale improves?
I coached for years at the USSF level all the way up to ODP. If a player doesn’t want to be there, let him go, because if you don’t he becomes a cancer. I’m not crazy about a player deactivating himself but any kind of negotiation is a leverage game…and right now Norwich has very little. And the dumb game they’re playing is refusing to acknowledge that they’re in a desperate spot and they needed reinforcements yesterday – from players who actually want to be there. They have two weeks.
Also, almost all the top players – and Sargent is arguably their top player though he isn’t being paid like it – have release clauses in their contracts that trigger in the case of relegation. Which means if they get relegated, they could get nothing for him.
My guess would be it’s about money as much as anything. Sargent’s making £1.3M, which translates to about $1.75M…certainly not chump change, but as has been noted below, Toronto’s in a position to beat that by a lot – I mean, they paid Insigne $15.4M to go there.
You only get so long as a pro athlete to earn. Depending on what Toronto’s offering he could have a reason for shaking the cage. I’d be genuinely curious to see what their offer actually is.
I doubt it will be anywhere near 14 million.
ODP is not professional soccer…not even close, so that analogy is invalid and holds no weight.
Agreed, any kind of negotiation is about leverage. That said, there is a contract that is in place, so engage in said negotiation in a professional manner.
Saying that Norwich has no leverage is categorically false. Additionally, saying that if Norwich is relegated, Sargent gets to leave on a free is also categorically false. Some relegation release clauses allow for a free departure…others, have a monetary amount attached to them. Often times, those monetary amount are less that the players’ market value, but they do allow for the team to receive a transfer fee for their asset aka the player.
We’ll know in a couple of weeks if Norwich lets him leave. That said, if Norwich lets him leave, they are telling every current Norwich player, and all future Norwich players that if they are not happy, all they have to do is throw tantrum. I don’t see that happening.
I have no idea if Norwich can weather the financial storm of keeping Sargent and not playing him, but it’s possible that Norwich doesn’t sell, makes an example of Sargent, banishes him from the first team, and sends him to train with the youth ranks for some time.
That is what he has earned with this shit show that he created.
So he sat out a cup game because he has a very real chance to earn multiple millions more at another team. How dare he consider his personal finances or look out for his family. The nerve.
I don’t get it. It’s not like he asked to sit out a league game, it’s a cup match vs a lower level opponent. You dont play your stars in those games anyway. I feel like if he were an English, or Brazilian or Argentine player this wouldn’t even be a story. This happens all the time with transfers on the table. Get out of there Josh, this club is going nowhere but down.
At least 11 others put on their boots and got out there. What makes him special that he gets to decide, while under contract, when it suits him to play. I like him as a player but this was a bad move.
I don’t get it. It’s not like he asked to sit out a league game, it’s a cup match vs a lower level opponent. You dont play your stars in those games anyway. I feel like if he were an English, or Brazilian or Argentine player this wouldn’t even be a story. This happens all the time with transfers on the table. Get out of there Josh, this club is going nowhere but down.
Norwich airing their dirty laundry in public was stupid.
You can’t force a player who doesn’t want to stay to show up with a good attitude and produce and they’re sitting here playing this dumb game while literally into the relegation zone and are halfway through the winter transfer window where they should be bringing in reinforcements. And in airing their conflict with Josh now, they’ve done two things – turned the fan base against Sargent, making it even MORE unlikely he’ll want to stay, and they’ve also wiped any negotiation leverage because now it’s obvious to the outside world that Sargent wants out of Norwich.
Well, when you see a team in the drop zone, there’s invariably dysfunction at the club level, and now it’s pretty clear what’s broken at Norwich.
Toronto must have made a really good offer to him. He can literally play in MLS the next 7 years, and in his prime. Making probably more than double what he was getting at Norwich or what any other European club was willing to pay him.
Well, this is gonna get interesting!