Liam Manning makes Josh Sargent claim as Norwich City await bids for ‘top player’

Norwich City got off to a winning start in pre-season on Saturday afternoon, as they beat Northampton Town 3-1 at the club’s training ground.

It’s been an exciting summer so far for the Canaries, and several new players got a first run out in yellow-and-green on a very sunny day in Norfolk.

Ahead of his move to Porto, Borja Sainz was left out of the team, but Harry Darling did make his non-competitive debut for Norwich after joining as a free agent in June.

Nevertheless, there was plenty of focus on one player, as Josh Sargent continues to be linked with a move away from the club and Liam Manning was not shy to talk about his future.

Liam Manning explains Josh Sargent’s current Norwich City status

Following previous interest from Roma in Sargent, the American forward is one of the most highly sought-after players in the Championship this summer.

The 25-year-old was arguably the Canaries’ best player last season, and replacing him will be tough. However, Manning may be resigned to losing him.

He said following the final whistle on Saturday (via: PinkUn): “Josh is a top player, right? You see that. You see what he’s done in the division. But the consequences of that, naturally, are you’re going to be linked with clubs at a higher level.

“We have to see how that pans out. I can’t speak highly enough of how he’s applied himself in training and how he’s gone about it. It was good to see him get 45 as well.”

The Canaries have their Josh Sargent replacement already at Carrow Road

Manning has plenty to spend this summer, and the former Bristol City boss has not been scared to throw money at his striker problem already.

Norwich fans are excited to see Mathias Kvistgaarden, with one Danish football expert calling the 23-year-old a ‘dangerous’ player.

Supporters perhaps have expected to lose Sargent in the transfer window, and their head coach’s comments on Saturday afternoon suggest that it’s a matter of when not if he departs in the coming weeks.

Nevertheless, Norwich remain dark horses for promotion in 2025/26, as the Canaries look to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2022.