Norwich City cannot afford to let striker join Borja Sainz out the door in January - View | OneFootball

Norwich's promotion challenge can't allow for major January sales

Borja Sainz’s future at Norwich City was thrown into question in September, along with links for a move for Josh Sargent in August.

After the Canaries lost Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe in the summer, the club cannot afford to let either of these men out the door mid-season.

According to a report from Spanish outlet El Correo, Athletic Club are interested in signing Sainz, which could lead to a January move.

It was previously reported by Give Me Sport during the summer that Cincinnati FC had a bid worth $20 (£15) million rejected by the Championship side.

The pair have gone on to prove their importance to Norwich this season already, pitching in very important moments, with Sainz in particular stepping up in the absence of Sara.

Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz’s importance to Norwich

Sainz has bagged six goals from the team’s opening eight league games, only one behind the division’s top scorer Josh Maja (all stats from Fbref).

This is the same tally as he managed in the entirety of the previous league campaign under David Wagner, where he made 33 appearances in total.

The Spaniard is really thriving under Johannes Hoff Thorup, with his recent hat-trick against Derby County putting his good form in full focus.

If Norwich are going to compete for promotion to the Premier League this season, then keeping him will be key.

There is no doubt that a move to Bilbao will be very tempting given they’re competing not just in La Liga, but also in the Europa League this season.

Meanwhile, Sargent hasn’t quite had the prolific start to the campaign supporters might’ve hoped for, but his penalty against Leeds United on Tuesday night highlighted his significance to the team.

It was a high pressure moment in a big game, but he calmly stepped up to supply the finish, and earned the team a well fought point against tough opposition.

Similarly to Sainz, Norwich simply cannot let the forward go this January if they have any ambition at all for a promotion charge this season.

Thorup needs stability in his squad to thrive

It’s been an encouraging start to life at Carrow Road for Thorup, having come in during the summer in place of Wagner.

Given the turbulence the team endured over the summer with the wild speculation surrounding Rowe, leading to his exit, as well as Sara’s departure, things have gone well in their absence.

Thorup arrived into a chaotic situation, and has only had some stability again in the last few weeks, which has produced some of their best performances under his management.

Further disruption to his squad in January is not what he deserves, especially as these potential sales coming to fruition would only make his squad worse.

If the Canaries remain within touching distance of the top two and top six, then he will have earned the chance to go all the way with this set of players for this season.

In fact, Norwich should be more focused on possible signings, otherwise the club will be stuck struggling for progress if they never give their managers a chance to actually work with their top talent for very long.