Can Josh Sargent prove his worth in the Championship?
Josh Sargent’s first 12 months in English football were nothing short of difficult. The 22-year-old was brought to Norwich City from German Bundesliga side Werder Bremen by Daniel Farke for around £9 million in a bid to help the Canaries avoid relegation back to the Championship, but could do very little to stop that inevitable feat as Norwich finished rock bottom of the table for the second time in three seasons.
In Sargent’s defence, he was often played out of position on the flanks due to Norwich’s talisman Teemu Pukki occupying the central role in attack. However, a return of just two goals — both of which came in a 3-0 win over fellow relegated side Watford in January — and one assist in 26 Premier League appearances were not enough to justify an almost £10m price tag and he was branded a flop.
The USA international faces a whole new task this season — ensuring he can help fire Norwich back to the promised land of Premier League football at the first time of asking. The Championship is a completely different kettle of fish to the top flight though, as it’s far more demanding physically and games come at you thick and fast over the course of the 46-match campaign.
To make matters worse, there is already added pressure on Dean Smith and his squad as Norwich have thus far not lived up to their status as pre-season promotion favourites in the Championship betting odds — failing to win any of their opening three games, losing to Cardiff City and Hull City either side of a draw with Wigan Athletic, before finally getting off the mark with a 2-1 victory over Huddersfield Town.
The majority of Norwich fans must have thought their season had got off to the worst start possible when it was confirmed that Pukki had bruised his foot in the defeat to Hull and would miss at least the Huddersfield tie, but it was Sargent who stepped up to the mark in the Finn’s absence and inspired the Canaries to their maiden win of the season.
Just six minutes in to the match at Carrow Road, Sargent leapt brilliantly to head home a cross from the edge of the six-yard box to give Norwich the lead and he would have had an assist for Daniel Sinani’s strike 10 minutes later had his pass not deflected off a Huddersfield defender on its way to the Luxembourg international.
Overall, it was a stunning display from the American — who also forced Tom Lees in to making a red card offence as he sprinted away from the Huddersfield man towards goal, leaving the centre-back with no choice but to pull him down as he was about to go one-on-one with goalie Lee Nicholls.
It was the type of performance that might have Smith thinking about starting Sargent in a central role more often, especially with Pukki failing to really make anything count in the first three games of the season, and the 22-year-old knows just how important that game was for his Norwich career.
“Obviously, it’s been a while since I scored and to be able to play my favourite position again at striker, I felt it was a very good opportunity for myself,” said the American.
“To get the goal was huge for myself and also for the team. The win was huge for us today.
“I started the first match and he (Dean Smith) made it very clear to everyone that we have a deep pool of players right now and if you’re not scoring or assisting then you won’t play.
“I know I have to work hard but also that I need to produce that stuff too. It was nice for me to get on the scoresheet today.”
Now that Sargent has ended his goal drought it’s important that he gains some momentum up front for Norwich, not just for his club career, but also internationally — as his World Cup place in doubt after missing out on the last couple of USMNT squads. He has a lot to prove and a lot of work to do, so let’s hope this is the start of a rejuvenated Sargent.
