Norwich City set for massive boost if Ben Knapper is right | OneFootball

The Norwich sporting director has said that Josh Sargent will be staying in January, and given their start to the season, the Canaries will need him.

The Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has said that Josh Sargent will remain with the club in January, and given their season so far, they could really do with that claim coming to fruition despite his languid goalscoring record.

With the former Rangers head coach Philippe Clement having been appointed as their new manager, the Canaries travelled to Birmingham City at the weekend hoping for the dawn of a new era to begin, despite Clement having had barely half a week to familiarise himself with his squad.

What they got instead was a sobering reminder of how much work Clement has to do if he's to turn their fortunes around.

Birmingham won the game at a canter, running up four goals in the first 55 minutes to win 4-1, a result which left the Canaries one place off the bottom of the Championship table and five points from safety with a third of the season played and only the financially desperate Sheffield Wednesday below them in the table.

There hasn't been much to be happy about recently if you are of a Norwich persuasion, but under-fire sporting director Ben Knapper's recent interviews did bring out a smidgeon of hope, and it involves the club's talisman.

Ben Knapper has confirmed that Josh Sargent will be staying at Carrow Road in January

Norwich City fans have been in need of a bit of good news of late, and the aforementioned Knapper delivered some at the end of last week regarding one of their most prised assets.

In an interview on the club's transfer plans with the Pink 'Un, Knapper said that of the status of American international striker Josh Sargent that, "You can never give guarantees of what's going to happen, of course," but that, "I think it would be extremely difficult to think of a world where Josh Sargent leaves us mid-season."

Given Norwich's form so far this season and with the transfer window set to reopen in just over a month, Sargent will surely figure heavily in the plans of new head coach Clement, and this news will come as a considerable reassurance to Norwich fans, who've seen their team struggle since the opening stages of the season.

The USA international's form though has been somewhat of a major concern after the opening few weeks of the season.

Prior to their November 25 clash with Oxford United, Sargent hasn't scored in his last 12 Championship matches, with his goals drying up as well as City's winning of points, with the supply lines that are being utilised to feed the American at the top end of the pitch not working out as well as hoped.

Josh Sargent has been coveted by other clubs for much of this year - Norwich City cannot afford to lose him though

Even though Norwich City have had a start to the season that's been tougher than anyone would have expected, Josh Sargent is still the player that is turned to as their source of inspiration.

He's been an ever-present in their first team, and with five goals in 16 appearances, he's scored a third of the total of 15 that they've managed in the Championship so far, while he's also picked up a couple of assists.

The threat of losing Sargent has been a constant theme for Norwich in recent times. During the summer, he was close to leaving for Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, but ended up rejecting the move.

Interest in him didn't only come from the Bundesliga, either. In June, FLW exclusively revealed that Burnley were interested in taking the striker to Turf Moor, while reports in the Italian media linked him with a potential move to Roma.

And Sargent himself seems happy at Carrow Road. Asked by BBC Radio Norfolk at the end of October about whether he could be tempted to leave the club in January, he replied: "I don't have any plans of leaving at the moment, I'm very happy here.

"I know it's been a bit of a rough patch for the club, but I'm fully focused on turning it around and doing my best for this club. I stayed for a reason."

But for all the optimism brought about by the appointment of Clement and Knapper's confidence that Sargent will stay with the club beyond January, Norwich City remain in a precarious position near the foot of the Championship.

Having lost all seven of their home League matches so far this season, they now have two in five days against Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers, and Knapper needs the team to take something from them.

With Liam Manning having been sacked and Clement unable to do anything in the transfer market for more than a month, pressure will surely continue to rise under the sporting director if results don't significantly improve before the new year.

Josh Sargent has been with Norwich City for more than five years since signing for the club from Werder Bremen in 2021, and his comments will only have further accelerated his move into the pantheon of Norwich City legends. The players who stick with you when the going gets tough are often those who the fans hold in the most affection.

But Ben Knapper is under pressure, and he will be keeping everything crossed that Philippe Clement can start to turn things around at Norwich, because his own position will surely be at risk should the new head coach fail to do so. Everybody at Carrow Road will be hoping that he can.