Norwich City manager Philippe Clement has today confirmed that star striker Josh Sargent will be unavailable for the Canaries’ trip to Wrexham tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm.
Reports today claim that Premier League side Nottingham Forest have shown an interest in the USA international. Toronto FC made a bid last weekend, with Sargent ruling himself out of Norwich’s FA Cup win over Walsall.
However, the received bid falls short of the club’s valuation, and Sargent appears to want this move to happen. With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, a return to his home continent could be on the cards.
Clement confirmed that August’s player of the month for the Championship is training with the under-21s. He is only focusing on what is a tough task this weekend.
“He’s training with the second team.
“There’s not much more to focus on now apart from Wrexham and getting results.”
The Belgian head coach reiterated his stance on the saga today, saying that Sargent won’t be departing Norwich this month.
“I said that he’s not going to leave this window. It’s not going to happen.
“I’ve said it already a few times: this club is in a relegation battle and everyone is focused on coming out of this situation. Josh has two and a half years on his contract.”
He still has two and a half years left on his current contract, so any fee will be sizeable. Toronto’s bid was £13.4 million, which falls short of the fee that was agreed with VFL Wolfsburg in the summer.
However, Sargent turned down that move in the summer, and if he is to leave, the fee would have to reach around that of the German side.
Clement insists that this saga has no impact on the rest of the squad either, with the main focus now being survival.
“I don’t have any fear about distraction in the squad. They’re all working hard in attitude, in team spirit, to get results.”
The Norfolk side have recieved a boost ahead of the weekend however, with new signing Ali Ahmed available for the first time since joining in January.
Fellow winger Papa Diallo is also returning to the squad and looking to play under his new manager for the first time.
It seems to be a case of when, not if, for the departure of Josh Sargent.
The 25-year-old was adored by many Norwich City supporters during his time at the club.
Unfortunately, it looks to be a sour end to his prolific spell at Carrow Road, where he has scored 56 goals in 157 appearances at the club.
