Borja Sainz’s former coach ‘convinced’ as he makes £14m Norwich City prediction

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While the Norwich City faithful are still basking in the green-and-yellow glow of Matthias Kvistgaarden’s arrival from Brondby, Borja Sainz’s impending Carrow Road farewell may dim those Carrow Road smiles somewhat.

Fabrizio Romano uttered those three immortal words on Tuesday night; East Anglia to FC Porto, ‘here we go’.

Norwich talisman Borja Sainz is heading to Portugal, reportedly for a fee of around £14 million. This will, therefore, place the silky Spaniard fourth in the list of the club’s all-time record sales. Emi Buendia remains Norwich’s biggest-ever export, followed by James Maddison, but the offer put forward by FC Porto will put him within touching distance of Gabriel Sara on the podium.

So, as the Canaries fans hail Kvistgaarden’s £6.9 million as a considerable coup for a team who finished in the bottom half of the Championship last season, the Danish striker will have to handle offsetting the attacking output Borja Sainz will take with him to the Estadio do Dragao.

In the meantime, Juan Ignacio Martinez, Sainz’s former coach at Spanish outfit Real Zaragoza, cannot speak highly enough about a forward who joined Norwich City for free and will earn the club a cool £14 million profit after two highly-productive seasons.

Juan Ignacio Martinez talks up Borja Sainz switch from Norwich City to FC Porto

Martinez was the head coach of Real Zaragoza during Sainz’s underwhelming loan spell at La Romareda in 2021/22.

The then-Alaves-owned forward scored only three times in 32 Spanish Segunda matches. It’s fair to say his output in the final third has come on leaps and bounds since then.

“Borja has overcome everything,” Martinez tells Radio Renascenca. “That’s why he performed so well in Turkey, England, and now, hopefully, in Portugal.

“He has an easygoing personality, easily integrating into everyday life. He’s extroverted, and that makes him easier to get along with.

“On the field, he’s the same; he puts pressure on himself and ignores his surroundings.”

Sainz will be ‘very happy’ joining former Champions League winners Porto

As Martinez alludes to, Sainz spent a single season in Turkey with Giresunspor before joining Norwich as a relatively unknown 22-year-old back in 2023.

Former European Champions Porto will be his next destination; a move testament to Sainz’s own performances as well as Norwich’s excellent handling of a man who finished just shy of Joel Piroe in the Championship’s Golden Boot race last term.

“[Sainz will be] very happy. [Joining Porto] says a lot about his performance in recent seasons,” adds the former Al-Arabi, Levante and Almeria tactician. “He made a Champions League-calibre club like Porto sign him.

“From now on, it will be a huge challenge for him. I’m convinced that if he works as he has in recent seasons, Porto [will get] a player they will greatly appreciate.

“He doesn’t shy away from a collision, he scores headers, he evades markers, he looks for shots, he connects well, and he makes assists. Being right-footed, he plays on the right wing with good performance.

“And if you put him on the left, with his dribbling and diagonal runs, he links up well with the striker to create combinations.”

At this stage, while one half of last season’s star frontline has a foot out the door, Josh Sargent remains a Norwich City player.

EFL Analysis can confirm that Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland like Sargent. Norwich have placed an £18 million price-tag on his head in an attempt to ward off further suitors.