Sargent is thriving in the Championship, presenting the Norwich star with new opportunities for club and country
There's a stat about Josh Sargent that illustrates just how prolific the U.S. men's national team star has been over recent years. Since Sargent's arrival at Norwich in 2022, no one player in the Championship has scored more goals than his 38. And while that factoid underscores Sargent's level of achievement, some stats do require deeper diving to fully understand their meaning. This is one of those stats.
There's a reason that Sargent is atop that leaderboard: goalscorers don't hang around in the Championship for long. The very best drag their team to promotion, forcing their way into a Premier League chance. Others get snatched up quickly by bigger clubs in bigger leagues. If a striker can do it in the rough-and-tumble Championship, conventional wisdom says they can do it just about anywhere.
The Championship isn't structured to be a home to top-tier attacking talent. In many ways, it's structured to swiftly push them through.
So that brings us back to Sargent. As he continues to increase those numbers – he has seven goals in his last seven games and 11 on the season – someone has to be watching, right? According to various reports, the answer is yes.
U.S. men's national team boss Mauricio Pochettino is surely one as he prepares to have Sargent lead the line in the CONCACAF Nations League this month, but so too will be suitors, both in the Premier League and elsewhere. For now, Sargent can continue to boost his Championship numbers. But with every goal that pours in, it becomes clearer that his time at this level should come to a close relatively soon.
Getty Images SportSargent's strong run
It took a while for him to get going, with injuries limiting him for a large portion of the season. But Sargent is back to his best now – and that's not just some cliche. No, this is the best version we've seen of the 25-year-old American striker. Ever.
Despite playing 14 fewer matches than teammate and Golden Boot leader Borja Sainz, Sargent has only four fewer goals as he pushes for his place atop the Championship's charts. Seven of those goals were spread across his last seven games, with Norwich snagging 12 key points during that span.
Some of the deeper numbers are even more insightful. Sargent's 11 Championship goals have come from just 21 shots on target, showing his precision and just how good he's been at picking his spots. Sargent has also been wildly prolific at home, scoring 20 goals across his last 23 home games for Norwich.
It's a fantastic return, particularly when you also take into account Sainz's goalscoring run that has him atop the league's leaderboard. Yet, for all of Norwich's firepower, they still face an uphill battle to reach the Premier League, and that battle could have major ramifications on Sargent's career.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportPushing for a Premier League return
When Sargent signed for Norwich ahead of the 2021-22 season, he did so in search of a Premier League chance. It didn't go particularly well. The then-21-year-old forward scored just two goals in 26 matches. Norwich were thrown right back into the second division with a last-place finish.
Since then, Sargent has been the club's chief goal-getter. He's led the club in goals in each of the last two seasons, scoring 13 in 2022-23 and then adding 16 more the next year. If not for injury issues, Sargent would be well on pace to smash those numbers this season – and even with the injuries, he still might.
Numbers don't particularly matter right now, though. All that matters is a promotion chance and, at the moment, a return to the Premier League looks tough.
With this week's draw with Blackburn, Norwich sit in 11th place, which, most years, would make the task impossible. That's the definition of midtable mediocrity generally. Not this year. Right now, it's all up for grabs in the race for promotion playoff spots. Norwich is just four points behind sixth-place West Brom, who currently hold the final playoff spot. There are obviously teams to leapfrog but, at the moment, Norwich are clinging to the most important thing they can: hope.
"I just want us to keep putting together results and make a good push for the playoffs because I do think we're good enough," Sargent said. "I do think we have the quality. We just need to limit those mistakes and bad games and stay consistent with what we're good at. Everybody knows how this league is. If you string together a few wins, then you're right back in the picture, so that's our goal. We have games where we can do that right now. We just need to stay focused and keep putting together performances."
With 11 games remaining, the Canaries will need to go on a winning streak. Considering the competitiveness at the top, dropped points could be catastrophic. They have a chance, though. But if they fail to capitalize, the club might need to answer some difficult questions this summer.
Getty Images SportInterest rises
Let's get it out in the open: the only real reason Sargent is still playing at the Championship level is his injury record. They say the best ability is availability and, for long stretches over the last few years, Sargent just hasn't been available. He's started just 43 of the last 81 Norwich games dating back to last season. Despite that, he's put up huge numbers.
If he was consistently healthy, someone would have paid up to acquire him. In truth, several teams nearly did. Reports indicated that FC Cincinnati and St. Louis City SC were ready to go all-in to bring Sargent to MLS this past summer. It would have certainly required a hefty transfer fee, but it's easy to see why those clubs would be willing to pay it.
For St. Louis, Sargent would be a hometown star returning to be the face of a franchise. For Cincinnati, Sargent could have been their leader in the attack before they went out and spent a then-MLS record $16.2 million on Kevin Denkey.
The MLS interest reportedly remains, according to GiveMeSport. Last summer, Norwich reportedly wanted more than $20 million to start the conversation. This summer, they'll be eyeing the $22 million fee Atlanta United paid for another Championship striker, Emmanuel Latte Lath, as a starting point.
Latte Lath is a year older than Sargent and had been just about exactly as prolific. When you factor in Sargent's marketability in the U.S. as an American international, that seems like the floor Norwich would take, especially from an MLS club.
It appears that interest in him is building in England, too. Bournemouth were among the clubs linked with him last summer, although much has changed for the Cherries since as they continue to outperform all expectations in the Premier League. Recently, Leeds have been named among the clubs eyeing Sargent as they move closer to winning the Championship.
It seems likely that Sargent, and Norwich, will have decisions to make this summer. That decision would would be easier if they could find a way to push into the Premier League. If not, let the bidding start.
GettyA USMNT chance
Sargent has never had particularly great luck with the USMNT. Injuries always seem to strike at the absolute worst time. Still, when assessing why he hasn't really taken a leap with the USMNT, injuries aren't the only factor.
The unfortunate reality is this: Sargent hasn't scored for the USMNT since November 2019. It's been more than five years since he found the back of the net in a USMNT shirt. At the time, he was just starting to break through with Werder Bremen. In the years since he's played in four leagues for two different teams while scoring all but two of his 59 first-team goals.
That's what makes this March so important. With Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi sidelined by injuires, Sargent will almost certainly be the guy for the USMNT. As the U.S. deals with a striker crisis, Sargent is, thankfully, in great form. It all seems to be lining up for him to play a key role as the U.S. looks to defend its CONCACAF Nations League title.
For Sargent, though, this is about more than a trophy. Last cycle, the U.S. was crying out for a striker, Now, the team is figuring out what to do with several good ones. For Sargent to have a shot at World Cup glory in 2026, he'll have to keep pace – and, to keep pace, he'll have to score loads and loads of goals.
"Of course, I want to get back with the guys and be with the national team any chance I get to be back there," Sargent told CBS Sports. "I want to take my opportunity to finally get going with them and score some goals."
It's a big moment for Sargent, who is heading into what could be a period of change with both his club and his national team. Interest is rising and, with that, pressure is rising, too.