"The interest has probably gone" - Norwich City: Josh Sargent claim amid injury backdrop | OneFootball

FLW’s Norwich fan pundit Zeke Downes was extremely confident in the American continuing his tenure in Norfolk.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Having undergone groin surgery in early November, Norwich City striker Josh Sargent is predicted to be out until the new year.

While unfortunate news for the American international, the timing of the injury has proved an interesting development regarding his situation at Carrow Road.

It is believed the man from Missouri has received a lot of interest from afar in the past year, including Bournemouth, St Louis City and FC Cincinnati, with GiveMeSport claiming a bid of around $20 million was sent to Norwich.

With Premier League and Bundesliga experience, as well as international esteem, Sargent is perhaps one of the most recognisable names in the EFL right now.

With his recovery time perforating the upcoming January transfer window, will this setback be enough to deter oncoming suitors for now?

Sargent injury might mean Norwich have easy January ride

When asked whether he expects Norwich to be able to keep Sargent in January, given his serious injury, FLW’s Norwich fan pundit Zeke Downes was extremely confident in the American continuing his tenure in Norfolk.

"I would imagine that we would be able to keep Sargeant in the January window, especially now with his injury. I think we would probably have kept him anyway.

"The main interest in him has probably gone now. He's not been scoring as many goals, he's obviously been heavily involved in the build-up and has been generally excellent, but when a club is wanting to sign a striker, they will first and foremost look at goal-scoring numbers.

"With that in mind, I would imagine he's not as hot on other clubs' radar anyway, but with the added factor of his injury, there's just no way that another team comes in for him - especially at the value that we would want."

As Downes states, regardless of the injury, Sargent's numbers this season have not been reflective of an emphatic goalscorer.

His four goals in 12 games, one of which being a penalty, is by no means a meager sum. However, it doesn't quite reflect the record of player that would command the substantial fee rumoured to be Norwich's asking price.

This line of thinking may be misleading to his overall contribution to the team, as his true talents, at least during this campaign, lie within his creation.

Having accrued five assists in the same timeframe, Sargent has bolstered his overall goal involvements to 0.76 per 90 minutes, currently the eighth-highest figure in the division.

However, sitting atop him in the aforementioned stat-line, and pretty much all others, is Championship MVP-elect Borja Sainz.

With 14 league goals already this campaign, the Spaniard has been a complete revelation in East Anglia.

Sadly, Sargent's injury truncated a thriving partnership between the two, combining directly for four goals since the start of the new season.

With Sargent out for the congested December fixture list, and his continental colleague pushing down on the accelerator in his absence, most recently scoring a delightful hat-trick against Plymouth.

While the American is undoubtedly a tremendous asset to the Canaries when fit, if any clubs do find themselves snooping around Norfolk for a winter deal, Sargent will be far from the first name on the watchlist.