Exclusive: Norwich City's Josh Sargent Sparks Three-Club Battle as Toronto Bid Hits £20m

Norwich City’s transfer turmoil has exploded into a full-scale tug-of-war after Toronto FC submitted an improved £20million offer for wantaway striker Josh Sargent, lighting the fuse on a three-club battle for the American ace, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

The MLS side are pushing hard to prise the 25-year-old away from Carrow Road before the window slams shut, with Burnley and Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg both circling and waiting to strike.

Our sources understand the Clarets are also lining up an offer to sign the forward, with Wolfsburg waiting in the wings to see how things develop this week as a move away edges closer.

Once hailed as the Canaries’ golden boy, Sargent now finds himself frozen out, dumped into Norwich’s under-21s as tensions behind the scenes reach boiling point.

Sargent arrived in Norfolk in 2021 from Werder Bremen with a big reputation, having broken into the Bundesliga as a teenager and gone on to become a regular for the USA national side. 

Since then he’s delivered the goods in front of goal, racking up 56 goals in 157 games and finishing as Norwich’s top scorer in back-to-back Championship campaigns.

HERO STATUS

But despite his hero status with fans, the striker’s relationship with boss Philippe Clement has spectacularly soured.

Cracks began to show earlier this month when Clement revealed Sargent texted him the night before an FA Cup tie to declare himself unavailable due to “transfer things in his head” – a move that stunned supporters and infuriated the club hierarchy.

The fallout was swift and brutal, with Sargent banished from the first-team picture and told to train and play with the under-21s, a humiliating demotion for a player once seen as the face of the club’s promotion push.

Now, with his head clearly turned and his future hanging by a thread, Toronto have sensed blood and are stepping up their pursuit with an improved bid designed to finally force Norwich’s hand.

FRESH START

Burnley, locked in a desperate Premier League relegation scrap, are watching closely. They see Sargent as the kind of streetwise striker who could fire them to safety, while Wolfsburg remain keen to tempt him back to Germany, where his career first took off.

Our sources have learnt that Sargent is eager for a fresh start, with next summer’s World Cup looming large and regular top-level football essential if he is to cement his place in the USA squad.

Toronto believe they can steal a march on their European rivals by moving fastest and offering Sargent a starring role across the Atlantic.

But Norwich are digging in – at least publicly. Behind closed doors, however, the mood is shifting, with club chiefs now facing a stark choice, either cash in on their unsettled star or risk a toxic standoff dragging into the final days of the window.