Josh Sargent Chose Family Over the European Dream | OneFootball

Josh Sargent left the U.S. for Germany when he was just 17. The striker joined Werder Bremen’s training camp after New Year’s Day in 2018 and when he turned 18 in February, he signed his first professional contract.

Eight years later, he returned to North America after an agreement was reached to bring Sargent to MLS with Toronto FC from Norwich City. He’s grown a lot as a player after playing in Germany and England. He’s also grown a lot as a person; now married with three kids.

This is his story.

Humble Beginnings in St. Louis

Born and raised in O’Fallon, Missouri– part of the St. Louis metropolitan area, Sargent became interested in soccer at a young age. That’s largely due to his parents having played soccer at the college level.

When Sargent was just eight, his parents enrolled him into Scott Gallagher Soccer Club– a famous youth club in the area that helped produced the likes of Tim Ream, Brad Davis, and Taylor Twellman.

His potential was obvious from an early age. By the time he entered his teenage years, Sargent moved Florida to join the U.S. residency program. He was ranked as the number two high school soccer player in the country.

Despite training stints with PSV (in 2016) and Schalke (in 2017), Sargent decided to sign with Werder Bremen. He was ready to chase his dreams in Europe.

Developing His Game in Europe

It took Sargent almost a year to make his senior Bundesliga debut with Werder Bremen. On December 7, 2018, Sargent came on as a substitute against Fortuna Düsseldorf. He made instant impact, scoring with his first touch– which made it the fastest goal by a debutant in Werder Bremen’s history.

In the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Sargent earned a regular place up top with the club. Unfortunately, his efforts couldn’t save the club from being relegated in the latter season. So with the 2022 World Cup just a year away, he looked to move elsewhere instead of playing in the 2.Bundesliga.

That’s when Norwich City came calling, and Sargent said “yes” to England.

Despite a slow start in the Premier League where he was mostly played out of position, Sargent would soon come good for Norwich City in the Championship.

In three full seasons he played in the Championship, the striker hit double digit goals in each. Well-loved by the fans and the clubs, he was given Norwich City’s Player of the Season award at the end of the 2024/25 season. Life was great on the pitch for him but off the pitch, his family wanted a return to North America. And so did he.

A Sudden End

In January, a shocking text rocked the Norwich City dressing room. It was from Sargent, who texted manager Philippe Clement to make himself unavailable for an FA Cup game to push for a transfer to Toronto FC.

The club was fuming at what he did, and rightly so. They banished him from the first team and made him train with the U-21s.

The negotiations between two clubs took a while because Norwich City were holding out for a firm price. Finally, on Sargent’s 26th birthday, an agreement was reached. The fee came to $22 million and if performance add-ons are met, it could rise to $27 million– which would become the most expensive transfer fee in MLS.

Choosing Family Over Everything

“Everybody has their own reasons.” Sargent said in an interview with GOAL after making the move.

“It’s nobody else’s life. I don’t know, but I feel like a lot of people have had their say on whether it’s the right thing to do or this and that. Again, there are a lot of people out there, and you’re not judging their lives for what they choose.

“I’m at a time where, over the last year or so, I’ve been thinking about coming back closer to home because I’m having more kids. It’s been more and more attractive to me and my family.

“The opportunity with Toronto came up, and they seemed to have a clear plan and structure for what they want to do. Everything just sounded exciting to me, and it all lined up perfectly, so here we are.”

It’s just a short two-hour flight from St. Louis to Toronto, so it is an amazing opportunity for Sargent and his family to keep in touch with their relatives and friends back home.

He also noted that living in a big city like Toronto is exciting because there is so much to do. And of course, he appreciates how the club is making his family an immediate priority by making sure they were well taken care of upon their arrival in Canada.

Sargent left for Europe as a boy and has now returned as a man. He will lead Toronto FC’s new exciting project along with Walker Zimmerman, Benjamín Kuscevic, Djordje Mihailović, José Cifuentes, and Emilio Aristizábal.

He’s lived in European dream. Now the priority is to bring him family back close to home. The opportunity to lead an exciting project is a bonus.