Norwich City appear poised to lose their 2024/25 Player of the Season, Josh Sargent, during the upcoming transfer window. Should that happen, the club will be hoping to replicate the kind of recruitment success they enjoyed seven years ago.
Despite penning a contract extension just last year, the American forward seems likely to depart Carrow Road this summer following an impressive campaign. Since arriving from Werder Bremen in 2021 for an undisclosed fee, Sargent has netted 46 league goals across four seasons, catching the attention of several unnamed Premier League and Bundesliga sides. Norwich are expected to demand a fee exceeding €20 million.
If Sargent does move on, Norwich will be hoping to unearth another gem, much like they did in the summer of 2018 when they signed a relatively unknown free agent from Denmark – a move that proved to be one of their shrewdest in recent memory.
That player was Teemu Pukki, a Finnish striker who had already played for clubs in Spain, Germany, and Scotland, but hadn’t truly made his mark. After being released by Brøndby, he joined Norwich on a free transfer in June 2018, signing a three-year deal.
Under Daniel Farke, who had taken charge a year earlier, Norwich had just finished 14th in the Championship. But Pukki’s arrival changed their fortunes. He hit the ground running, scoring 29 goals in 43 league matches in the 2018/19 season, leading the Canaries to the Championship title. He was named Championship Player of the Season and made the Team of the Season.
Though Norwich struggled in the Premier League the next year, Pukki still managed 11 goals. After relegation, he spearheaded another promotion campaign in 2020/21, scoring 26 times in 41 matches. Even as he aged, his goal-scoring touch remained reliable.
Pukki left in 2023 to join MLS side Minnesota United, following a disappointing 2022/23 season both personally and collectively for the club. Norwich had slipped to 13th in the Championship, and Pukki managed just 10 league goals in his final season at Carrow Road. Farke had already departed in late 2021, and his replacement couldn’t steer the club to safety as they were relegated again from the Premier League.
If Sargent does depart as expected this summer, Norwich will be desperate to find another forward capable of making the kind of impact Pukki did. However, talents like that are rare, particularly on free transfers, and since the Finnish international’s exit, City have struggled to find a comparable replacement.
Sargent’s Championship form has made him the club’s most natural goal scorer in recent years. Replacing him will be no small task, and sporting director Ben Knapper will be under pressure to identify someone who can step into the void left by both Sargent and Pukki.
