Norwich City struck gold with £8m star - It makes up for the £8.5m transfer shocker in 2013 | OneFootball

The signing of Josh Sargent has more than made up for this 2013 transfer error for Norwich.

Following another stellar season for Norwich City, Josh Sargent is continuing to justify the £8m fee that the Canaries parted with to secure his services back in 2021.

The American forward has consistently improved in every season throughout his three years in the Championship with Norwich, to the point where he is now undoubtedly one of the division’s most dangerous frontmen.

Sargent’s impressive performances have more than justified his price tag, but the same cannot be said of another expensive purchase from the Canaries’ past.

Ricky Van Wolfswinkel was signed by the Norfolk outfit for a fee believed to be £8.5m back in 2013, but his impact at the club could not have been more different to Sargent’s.

Van Wolfswinkel flopped at Norwich

Expectations were high for Van Wolfswinkel when he made the switch to Carrow Road.

The Dutch frontman arrived in England having enjoyed two prolific seasons in front of goal for Portuguese outfit Sporting. He notched 23 goals in all competitions during his first season in Lisbon, before following that up with a further 19 strikes in the 2012/13 campaign.

As a result, there was understandably plenty of excitement surrounding the then-24-year-old when his move to the Premier League was announced.

The former Vitesse Arnhem and Utrecht man opened up his time in England in the perfect way, netting a crucial equaliser to secure a point for his team in a 2-2 draw with Everton on the opening day.

However, things rapidly went downhill for the striker.

He failed to find the back of the net again all season and ended the campaign with just one goal from his 25 league appearances, as the Canaries were relegated back to the Championship after a three-year top-flight stay.

Following Norwich's relegation, Van Wolfswinkel was shipped to Saint-Etienne on loan, where he ended the 2014/15 season with nine goals and four assists in all competitions.

He returned to his parent club for a brief one-game spell at the start of the 2015/16 campaign, when he scored in an EFL Cup win over Rotherham United.

Almost immediately after that win, he was sent back out on loan, this time to Real Betis, before he returned to Vitesse Arnhem for an undisclosed fee ahead of the 2016/17 season.

His time in Norfolk brought just a single league goal – a disastrous way for the Canaries to have spent £8.5m.

After leaving Carrow Road, Van Wolfswinkel had a four-year spell with Basel, which uncharacteristically saw the Swiss giants fail to claim a single league title.

Now 36, the striker has spent the last four years back in the Eredivisie with FC Twente, where he has surpassed 15 league goals in two of his four seasons.

Sargent has been a far more successful signing

Like Van Wolfswinkel, Sargent also joined Norwich ahead of a season that ultimately saw them get relegated, and struggled to adapt to the Premier League at first.

The then-21-year-old recorded just three goal contributions from 26 league outings that season, but that is where the similarities between the two end.

The USA international has recovered from his slow start at the club and has transformed himself into one of the most exciting players outside the Premier League in recent years.

The frontman has surpassed 15 league goals in each of the last two seasons and has bettered his tally of contributions with every passing season in the Championship. With his eye for goal, intelligent link-up play and clever creativity, Sargent has developed into one of the division’s most complete forwards.

This year, the Canaries’ front three of Sargent, Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac have all had hugely impressive individual seasons, but there can be no mistake made over the fact that Sargent is the link that makes them such an effective attacking unit.

Given how devastating the trio have been at times, there is perhaps a feeling that Norwich should have achieved more than their eventual 13th-placed finish.

With the Norfolk outfit failing to seriously challenge for promotion since they dropped out of the top flight three years ago, there is potential that Sargent could move on to bigger things in the near future.

While that would be a big disappointment for Norwich, he would surely net them a sizable profit, which would help soften the blow if he were to depart.

Regardless of where his long-term future lies, Norwich can look back at Sargent as a successful purchase, given that his time at the club has turned out very differently from Van Wolfswinkel’s.