Winners and losers in a Josh Sargent Norwich City exit include Liam Manning as Wolfsburg near £21m deal

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Norwich City are set to lose 15-goal forward Josh Sargent this summer, with Bundesliga giants Wolfsburg in advanced talks over a £21m deal.

Following the arrival of Liam Manning, the Norwich City hierarchy have made some quality signings, including Harry Darling, Mathias Kvistgaarden, and Jacob Wright.

The caveat is the departures for one of the club’s prized assets, with top scorer Borja Sainz leaving Norwich for Porto earlier in July.

Josh Sargent looks set to follow Sainz in an exit, with the German giants set to win the race after Burnley and Wolfsburg were in talks for Sargent.

Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett said on X: “Norwich are close to agreeing a deal with Wolfsburg for Josh Sargent, that could net the Championship club £21m. Talks at an advanced stage, Sargent has told Norwich he is keen to move to the Bundesliga.”

As such, EFL Analysis has dissected the winners and losers from Sargent’s imminent £21m move to Wolfsburg.

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Winners from a £21m Josh Sargent transfer from Norwich City to Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg

The obvious winners within the Sargent exit from Norwich are Wolfsburg, given the calibre of forward the Bundesliga outfit is signing in the USA international.

Sargent scored 15 goals and registered five assists in 32 Championship outings for the Canaries, seeing the former Werder Bremen ace cement himself as one of the best players in the Championship last season.

Earlier in the campaign, Championship fans agreed Sargent was the best striker in the division, with his exceptional finishing ability and link-up play a constant thorn in the side of second tier defences.

Mathias Kvistgaarden

Danish centre-forward Kvistgaarden signed for Norwich earlier in the window from Brondby for a £6.9m fee on a four-year contract.

Norwich were praised for signing Kvistgaarden, and for good reason after the 23-year-old netted 23 goals and registered six assists for the Danish Super League last season, including two goals in the European Conference League.

With Sargent set to depart, it leaves Norwich needing Kvistgaarden to fill the number nine void left by the American’s absence.

Given Sargent’s goalscoring prowess, Kvistgaarden could have found minutes harder to come by in the 2025/26 Championship campaign.

But now, the new signing has a clear chance to show why the Canaries shelled out almost £7m for his striking services, and prove to second tier rivals why Norwich fans were raving over Kvistgaarden.

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Losers from a Josh Sargent transfer to Wolfsburg from Norwich City

Liam Manning

Unfortunately for the newly appointed Canaries boss, Manning is the evident loser with Sargent’s £21m move to Wolfsburg.

In the words of one second tier expert, Norwich have made a “statement of intent” ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign by recruiting some impressive signings for Manning’s maiden season in charge.

However, the Canaries’ top-six ambitions will be made far more difficult by the 15-goal forward’s exit.

Amid growing interest in Sargent’s signature, Manning recently told the Pink Un: “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.”

Manning will be reluctant to lose a proven, prolific goalscorer at this level, as his centre-forward abilities could have been the catalyst for a promotion push next season.

Josh Sargent

Whether Sargent is a winner or loser can be argued either way, with the allure of joining a top flight side and returning to a league the forward knows well evident.

However, given the upwards trajectory Norwich are on heading into next season, under the highly-rated head coach Manning, it could be seen that Sargent may live to regret his decision depending on how the 2025/26 Championship campaign pans out.

Norwich were last in the top flight in 2022, and Manning will have his sights set on ending that record next season, and the former Robins boss would undoubtedly have loved to call on Sargent in that quest.

Sargent admitted his Premier League dream last year, which could have become a reality if Norwich are successful this season.

If so, the American international may end up thinking that the grass away from Carrow Road is not always greener.