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He may be banging in the goals for Norwich City right now, but Josh Sargent just can’t seem to catch a break at international level.
With six goals in five games so far this term, it’s safe to say Josh Sargent has picked up where he left off last season for Norwich City.
If the Canaries are to be successful under Liam Manning this season, Sargent will be at the heart of it and the fact he is already firing on all cylinders is a brilliant omen for Norwich fans.
However, Sargent has a well-documented goal drought at international level with the USA, and he wasn’t able to fix that this week.
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The USA system doesn’t work for Josh Sargent
Sargent hasn’t scored for his country since 2019, and while that may be a big issue for the man himself, Norwich fans are not all that concerned. Taking to Twitter/X, they shared their thoughts on the latest outing and how the system used by Mauricio Pochettino for the USMNT just isn’t working to Sargent’s strengths at all.
One supporter wrote: “It’s no wonder Sargent doesn’t score for the US if this is the way their games go. The way Norwich are set up he’s our focal point and the main man, yet he’s being completely starved of the ball here. Look how deep he’s having to drop. So annoying.”
Others said, “They don’t know what to do with him,” and “USMNT is broken. I feel bad for Josh.”
Norwich fans from the US got in on the conversation, too. One said: “This is every single game with the USA national team. He spends all his energy pressing and gets zero service. It’s awful.”
Another added: “As a City fan, and a random bloke from Tennessee with 20 years of competitive football experience… Yes. Enjoy watching the Yellows and him within the system FAR MORE than anything regarding the USMNT.”
One fan even made the bold claim that “a Norwich team featuring Josh Sargent would beat a USMNT team featuring Josh Sargent.”
However, this goal drought might be a blessing in disguise for Norwich, who feared losing Sargent in the summer.
“I’d rather he seem not very good at international level. If he was smashing them in there as well then there’s no chance we keep hold of him,” one Canaries supporter said.
Another added, “This would be his life if he went to Burnley or Sunderland.” Still, after that shocking £1.5m bid from Burnley for Sargent, there’s no wonder he didn’t leave the club this summer.
How many goals can Josh Sargent score for Norwich City this season?
Norwich City fans are well aware that Josh Sargent is a ‘cheat code’ at Championship level. He bagged 15 goals in 32 games (2,505 minutes) last season, but he’s well on track to beat that already this year.
He’s now got five goals in four league games (345 minutes) this term, meaning Sargent is currently scoring a goal every 69 minutes. He was scoring at a rate of one every 167 minutes last season.
Obviously, it will be very hard to keep up this scoring rate that he’s got right now, but it’s worth remembering Sargent missed a decent chunk of last season with injury.
Assuming he gets the full campaign this year and stays in good form, there’s absolutely no reason Sargent can’t score more than 20 goals in 2025/26.
It’s hard to imagine him beating Aleksandar Mitrović’s 43-goal haul from 2021/22, but we could well see Sargent surpass Ivan Toney’s 31 goals (in 2020/2021) this season if he stays fit. Either way, it’s very likely the Championship Golden Boot will be his this term.