"We need to keep hold" - Norwich City owners urged to take £30m January transfer stance | OneFootball

FLW's Norwich City fan pundit has told the club what one demand he has for the ownership

Norwich City have made a promising start to life under new manager Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The Dane was hired this past summer by the Canaries following the dismissal of David Wagner, who had guided the team to a sixth place finish in the league, but had perhaps underwhelmed the fanbase with the team's general performances.

It was a difficult summer for the Norfolk outfit though, with stars like Jonathan Rowe and Gabriel Sara departing after excellent campaigns, leaving Thorup to blood in their young replacements.

However, City were able to hold onto Josh Sargent amid speculation over his future, with the owners putting their foot down on his valuation.

It was reported by Give Me Sport during the summer window that MLS side Cincinnati FC had bid $20 million (£15.2 million) to sign the forward to try and bring him back to his home nation, but it was rejected by Norwich.

Norwich City: Josh Sargent transfer claim issued

Sooner rather than later, Mark Attanasio will take full control of Norwich, having agreed a deal with long-serving owners Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones - March 2025 is when that deal is set to go through.

And when asked what demand of the current owners he would have, FLW’sNorwich fan pundit Zeke Downes claimed that keeping Sargent is a must.

He believes it would take up to around the £30 million mark to replace someone of his quality, especially given the improvement to his game that he’s managed over the last 12 months.

“Personally, the one demand I would have of our owner would be to keep Sargent,” Downes told Football League World.

“I think his value to the club is not really known by everyone.

“I think that he ended up being a bargain.

“When we bought him it seemed like a lot of money for someone that quite frankly looked like he had won a competition.

“But he’s worked very hard, and he’s now — I mean we would say so, I think maybe a lot of other fans maybe would say so — but I think Sargent is the best striker in the league, and he is guaranteed goals.

“Every year he has improved, and he’s now adding the build up play to his game.

“He’s getting some assists now, which is really, really good.

“And if you’ve got a striker that is guaranteed goals and assists, and is still a very good age then you need to keep hold of him.

“Because to buy a player like that, it would cost £25 million, 30 million, so we need to keep hold of Sargent.”

Josh Sargent’s importance to Norwich City

Sargent signed for Norwich in 2021, joining from Werder Bremen, and has gone on to become a key part of the first team squad.

He has started all nine of the Norfolk outfit’s league fixtures so far this season, and has contributed four goals and three assists (all stats from Fbref).

The 24-year-old was key to their run to the play-offs last year as well, scoring 16 from 26 appearances in the regular season, with only injuries keeping him from playing more regularly.

Next up for Norwich is a trip to face Stoke City on 19 October.

Josh Sargent must be one of Championship's most valuable players

Norwich held firm over the summer, and managed to keep Sargent despite speculation over his future.

The striker has a contract with the club until the summer of 2028, giving them plenty of leverage in any negotiations.

If their ambition is to push for promotion to the Premier League this year, then keeping him beyond the January window will also be crucial.

He has become one of the most valuable players in the entire Championship, and any deal to sign him is going to cost a small fortune - and he will perhaps be unaffordable to his potential suitors.