Norwich City fans will be chuckling at new Josh Sargent situation | OneFootball

Josh Sargent has failed to make the USA World Cup squad months after pushing to leave Norwich City for Toronto FC.

Norwich City will be looking forward to the 2026/27 season after their remarkable form under Philippe Clement following his appointment.

The ex-Rangers chief joined the Canaries when they were 23rd in the Championship table, having picked up just nine points from 15 games.

Incredibly, they went on to get 56 from the 31 games under Clement, which is the sort of form that would have had Norwich challenging for the top two over a full season.

Josh Sargent has had a difficult time since leaving Norwich City

What makes Clement’s work even more impressive is that he had to deal with the fallout from Josh Sargent demanding to leave the club.

The USA international was widely regarded as not only one of the best players at Carrow Road, but one of the best strikers in the Championship.

So, you can imagine Clement took the job at Norwich expecting Sargent to play a prominent role, and, in many ways, he would’ve been looking to build around the ex-Werder Bremen man.

Instead, as we know, Sargent pushed to leave in January, in what was a very unsettling period for all connected to the club.

Whilst the player has his side of the story, and he was certainly upset at the way some figures at Norwich behaved, there’s no denying that Sargent’s exit left a bitter taste for all fans.

Ultimately, Sargent did get his wish, as he joined Toronto FC in a transfer that could be worth £20m.

Even though the 26-year-old could’ve handled the situation better, you could understand why he wanted to move from a football perspective, as relegation to League One was a possibility, and he also said family reasons were behind the move.

Josh Sargent failed to make USA's World Cup squad

As well as that, Sargent was clear that he wanted to represent USA at their home World Cup this summer, and playing in MLS was expected to help his chances of making Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

But, the former Spurs boss has announced his 26-man group for the tournament, and Sargent did not make the cut.

That wouldn’t have come as a huge surprise, as his time with Toronto hasn’t really gone to plan so far.

Firstly, the team are struggling, having won just three of their 14 games, and fitness issues have restricted Sargent and the impact he has been able to make.

Sargent has scored three goals in eight games for his new club, but he missed four games at the start of May with injury, which halted his progress.

Going further back, 2026 has been very problematic for Sargent. His behaviour at Norwich, combined with his protracted transfer and MLS start date, means he has managed just eight appearances since January 4.

That will have come into Pochettino’s thinking, as Ricardo Pepi enjoyed a fantastic end to the season with PSV. Meanwhile, Haji Wright was influential in helping Coventry reach the Premier League, and Folarin Balogun scored 13 times in Ligue 1 for Monaco.

The only way Sargent was going to get ahead of any of the trio was by performing well over a period of a few months.

Instead, he left Norwich under a massive cloud, and with the Norfolk outfit flying under Clement, and Sargent having missed out on a home World Cup, he may regret the manner in which it all played out.

As for Norwich, it's fair to say that some fans will be pleased at how Sargent's actions have come at a cost for him. Whilst there is always an understanding that players move on, there are ways to go about that, and the striker disrespected the club and his teammates.

Pleasingly for Norwich, life without Sargent has gone very well so far, and with Clement in charge, and Mo Toure and Jovon Makama looking like exciting prospects in attack, they will believe promotion to the Premier League is a possibility next season.