£100m Josh Sargent claim made as Nottingham Forest and Toronto chase Norwich City deal | OneFootball

Josh Sargent's future at Carrow Road has become a hot topic of discussion

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has dropped a £100m valuation claim on Canaries striker Josh Sargent, who will also play no part in his side's upcoming Championship clash with in-form Wrexham at the Stok Cae Ras.

Such claims were made by the Belgian during his pre-match press conference at the Yellows' Colney training base on Friday afternoon, with the USMNT international's recent actions, followed by Clement's own comments after his side defeated Walsall 5-1 in the FA Cup third round last weekend, generating plenty of speculation over what the future holds for the USMNT international forward.

It has been an extremely difficult season for City so far, as they remain immersed in the second tier relegation battle, despite the fact Clement has overseen a relative upsurge in recent results, particularly at Carrow Road, since taking over the vacancy from his predecessor, Liam Manning, who was dismissed just over two months ago.

Despite the fact Norwich have been one of the most successful clubs in recent Championship history, having won three promotions since the beginning of the 2014/15 season - two of those being league title-winning campaigns - the East Anglian side have only regressed since their most recent relegation from the Premier League in 2022, although their current prized asset, Sargent, has stayed in Norfolk throughout, becoming one of the second tier's most potent finishers in the process.

At present, there is the real possibility that Norwich could be kicking off next season in League One for the first time since the Paul Lambert era at Carrow Road back in 2010 - a season which provided the platform for the club's aforementioned recent success.

As such, speculation has continued to grow around Sargent, who has continuously been the subject of exit talk, especially in the lead up to his native United States being one of the three host nations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

Yet, whilst Clement has taken a strong course of action following Sargent's controversial omission from last weekend's victory against the League Two Saddlers, the former Rangers boss has reiterated the fact that he believes the 25-year-old will still be a City player after the transfer deadline of 7PM on Monday, February 2nd.

Philippe Clement drops £100m Josh Sargent valuation claim as Nottingham Forest and Toronto FC lurk

After initially struggling to find his feet in the Premier League with the Yellows following his £8m switch from Werder Bremen in August 2021, Sargent has become one of the Championship's most feared frontmen for opposition defenders.

Indeed, in each of his three full seasons at second tier level, the 29-time USMNT international has hit double-figures despite a handful of injury setbacks, which has only increased his stock with clubs in the Premier League and in various other top flight leagues across the globe.

Sargent did come close to a Bundesliga return last summer amid strong interest from VfL Wolfsburg, who ended up seeing a €19m bid rejected by Norwich for their star man in what proved to be Manning's only window in charge.

Despite the Canaries' aforementioned woes throughout the first period of the season, Sargent, once again, has been a key source of goals under two head coaches.

Across 23 appearances in the league so far this term, he has scored seven times - a tally only bettered by Jovon Makama's nine.

However, the forward put himself in hot water in the eyes of Clement, who claimed Sargent had declared himself unavailable against Walsall, whilst Fabrizio Romano revealed an offer of $18m (£13.3m) had been lodged by Major League Soccer side, Toronto FC.

And, after further reports on Friday claimed that Nottingham Forest have renewed their interest in Sargent under the management of Sean Dyche, Clement responded to those rumours.

After declaring that the striker was training with the reserves after his "unacceptable" actions, Clement subsequently stated: 'If someone comes to pay £100m for Josh, he will go.'

Philippe Clement has been presented with major Josh Sargent, Norwich City dilemma

Whilst Sargent's personal stance on the matter is yet to be revealed in words, Clement has been presented with at least a short-term dilemma.

It remains to be seen how much longer the striker will be training away from the first-team squad, which is a huge blow in itself given his goalscoring prowess.

However, if a bid does not come in which Norwich deem acceptable, then Sargent may have very little choice but to accept the predicament and put himself in the 'shop window' for a summer exit, even though he is currently under contract at Carrow Road until June 2028.