Forget Josh Sargent - It's time to get excited about Norwich City | OneFootball

Despite all the noise surrounding Josh Sargent, Norwich City have made major progress under Philippe Clement, which offers hope for a bright future.

To many outsiders, Norwich City’s January window was overshadowed by Josh Sargent and his behaviour that has attracted plenty of attention.

In fairness, it’s easy to see why. Sargent was regarded as the best player at Carrow Road, and, after informing boss Philippe Clement that he didn’t want to play against Walsall in the FA Cup, the USA international is then believed to have had a row with sporting director Ben Knapper.

In the meantime, Clement banished Sargent to train with the U21s, with Toronto still working on a multi-million pound transfer to sign the 25-year-old.

Norwich City have flourished without Josh Sargent

That’s a far from ideal situation for any new manager to inherit, but it was compounded for Clement by the fact that his Canaries side were in the relegation zone.

Whilst his firm stance with Sargent won Clement admirers, the reality is that he was taking a big risk due to Norwich’s position in the table. If things had gone wrong, questions would be asked as to why the boss had alienated his best player.

Yet, that’s not what Clement is about, as he knows the collective is more important than any individual, and results show the group have bought into that.

When you take into account the three games Sargent missed through injury in December, Norwich have played seven games under Clement without their talisman. In that period, they have won five, drawn one and lost one, which is a remarkable return.

Even with Sargent in the team, the improvements under Clement have been huge. Overall, the Belgian has picked up 24 points from 15 games, which is why they have forced their way out of the relegation zone.

If you extrapolate that over the course of a full campaign, Norwich would be in the play-off places. Again, it’s worth stressing that this is with a team that were on course for League One before Clement arrived.

Norwich City will be dreaming of a Premier League return under Philippe Clement

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect about all of this for Norwich is how Clement has got the team performing.

We know that 15 games is a small sample size, but the Norfolk outfit have been tested in many ways - and they’ve often come through it.

They have overcome potential relegation rivals like West Brom and Charlton in high-pressure games, they have battled to victory at Wrexham, have worked well without the ball to see off Southampton and shown their quality to defeat leaders Coventry.

That adaptability is down to Clement, and whilst Norwich have clear principles in the way they want to play, he is proving to be a smart tactician on a game-to-game basis.

As well as that, so many individuals have improved dramatically under Clement, with Makama the obvious one, with the former Lincoln man ensuring that the prospect of life without Sargent isn’t a daunting one at all.

Despite their excellent form, Clement will know that Norwich still have plenty of work to do before they can breathe easily, and it’s shaping up to be an epic fight for survival for the neutral.

Nevertheless, you would forgive Norwich fans if they were looking beyond this campaign with a lot of excitement, as it’s natural to wonder what will happen once Clement has a full pre-season with the group - and more new signings to help the team.

After a very disappointing few years, the mood around Carrow Road was on the floor during Liam Manning’s terrible time in charge, with fans protesting and demanding change.

Yet, Clement has managed to unite fans and players at Norwich, and if they start next season as a Championship club, you can be sure that the manager will be aiming for promotion.