If Josh Sargent leaves Carrow Road, Norwich City will be eyeing repeat of ridiculous Daniel Farke bargain | OneFootball

A free signing in the summer 2018 turned out to be enormously beneficial to Norwich City. It was a stroke of luck that doesn't come along every day.

Norwich City seem set to lose their 2024/25 Player of the Season Josh Sargent this summer, and if that happens, the club will be desperately hoping for a repeat of the success that they had in the transfer market seven years ago.

He may only have signed a contract extension last year, but it seems likely that the American striker will be leaving Carrow Road this summer, given his form for the Canaries in 2024-25.

Sargent has been with the Norfolk outfit since signing for them from Werder Bremen for an undisclosed fee in 2021. He's scored 46 League goals for them over the four seasons since then, and his talents have attracted the interest of unnamed Premier League and Bundesliga clubs, with Norwich expected to ask for a fee in excess of €20 million.

In the event that this happens, Norwich will be desperately hoping for a slice of the luck that they had in the summer transfer window of seven years ago, when a free transfer from a Danish club turned out to be one of their best of recent years.

Teemu Pukki had already been around some of Europe's top leagues ahead of Norwich City arrival

Daniel Farke had been appointed the Norwich manager a year earlier and his first season in charge hadn't been particularly successful, with the Canaries, who'd been relegated from the Premier League two years earlier, finishing 14th in the Championship.

There was clearly work to be done, but one free transfer was of particular interest.

Finnish international Teemu Pukki was available after having been released by the Danish club Brondby that summer.

The striker had already played for Sevilla in Spain, Schalke 04 in Germany and Celtic in Scotland without setting the world alight, but his availability for no fee was an obvious attraction, and he was signed on a three-year deal at the end of June 2018.

Teemu Pukki was an immediate hit at Carrow Road - a younger version could be a great Josh Sargent successor

Pukki scored 29 league goals in 43 appearances during the 2018/19 season as Norwich stormed to the Championship title with 94 points. At the end of the season, he was named the Championship Player of the Season and was included in the 2018/19 Championship Team of the Season,

The following season, while Norwich were unable to prove themselves in the Premier League, the flying Finn still scored 11 goals, and the remainder of his time at the club was defined in this way.

After having finished bottom of the league in 2020, they were promoted straight back as champions again in 2021, this time with Pukki scoring 26 goals in 41 games - he may have been getting older, but the goals were still flowing.

Pukki left Norwich in 2023 to link up with Minnesota United in MLS. His last season at Carrow Road was a bit of a disappointment, but then again, Norwich's entire 2022/23 season felt that way too..

Daniel Farke left in November 2021 with the team rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, but this managerial change hadn't improved things at Carrow Road. They were relegated in bottom place again and, after having won the title in their two previous seasons in the Championship, the 2022/23 season saw them finish 13th, with Pukki managing just 10 league goals in what proved to be his final season as a Canary.

If Josh Sargent is to leave Carrow Road this summer, as many expect him to do so, Norwich could really do with another signing like Teemu Pukki.

The problem is though is that signings don't come along very often, and especially not on a free transfer, and City haven't hit the heights that they did with him leading their front-line since he left.

Sargent in the Championship is the closest thing to a natural goalscorer that Norwich have had, and when the time comes - probably later this summer - to replace his services - sporting director Ben Knapper is going to find it tough to find someone in the same vein as him and Pukki.