Philippe Clement breaks silence on Josh Sargent, situation at Norwich City as Toronto FC close in | OneFootball

Clement claimed the Canaries' prized asset made himself unavailable against the Saddlers

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has issued his stance on Josh Sargent's current situation at Carrow Road following the striker's omission from the Canaries' squad as they brushed aside League Two promotion hopefuls, Walsall, 5-1 in the FA Cup third round.

Indeed, the Belgian claimed in his post-match press conference that the USMNT international forward made himself unavailable for selection ahead of Sunday afternoon's clash against the Saddlers, with Major League Soccer side, Toronto FC, lodging a bid in an attempt to lure him to BMO Field ahead of the start of their league campaign against FC Dallas on February 22nd.

It has been an extremely frustrating campaign for the Championship outfit, who have failed to be anywhere near the targets which owner, Mark Attanasio and under-fire sporting director, Ben Knapper, would have set out ahead of the season following the initial appointment of Clement's predecessor, Liam Manning.

It was also well-documented that the former City boss failed to win a league match at Carrow Road throughout his short-lived tenure, and whilst results have, to an extent, improved under the former Club Brugge, AS Monaco and Rangers boss, the East Anglian side are still in grave danger of being relegated to League One for the first time in 16 years come the end of the season.

Indeed, the Canaries are currently 22nd in the second tier table ahead of next Saturday's trip to an in-form Wrexham side, and they are just one point behind Portsmouth at present - albeit John Mousinho's men do have a game in hand.

The Norfolk side have continuously failed to steer themselves up the table in the opening weeks and months of the campaign despite boasting a wealth of Championship experience and quality, with the aforementioned Sargent topping such a list due to his previous exploits at this level.

Despite suffering a handful of injury woes in his time with the Yellows, the 25-year-old has earned a reputation for being one of the division's most lethal finishers, with Premier League and European top flight interest in his signature never too far away as a result.

However, whilst Toronto are the latest side looking to lure the 29-time USMNT international back across the Atlantic, Clement has outlined that the club have no plans to part ways with their prized asset despite his recent actions.

Philippe Clement issues strong Norwich City, Josh Sargent stance amid Toronto FC transfer interest

It was an extremely satisfactory afternoon of cup action for the Canaries, in what proved to be a nice distraction from their struggles in the Championship.

Clement's first-ever FA Cup tie as a head coach saw his side emerge 5-1 victors, with highly-rated striker, Jovon Makama, netting a hat-trick against the League Two side.

Despite there not being wholesale changes made by Clement in the lead-up to the fixture, it was no surprise when Sargent's total omission from the squad sparked plenty of discourse.

Indeed, shortly after the full-time whistle in East Anglia, it was reported by transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, that the Ontario-based side had lodged an $18m (£13.3m) bid and that talks had begun between them and the Canaries.

Despite such claims, Clement stated post-match that Sargent will not be going anywhere, with the striker having also seen a €19m bid from Bundesliga side, VfL Wolfsburg, rejected by Norwich last summer.

"I want to be short about that. He sent me a message yesterday evening that he was not available to play today because of transfer things that are in his head," said Clement.

"We need to speak about that this week inside the club, but of course it's not something that you want, and it will be something with consequences.

"The club has been really clear about that, we know in which situation we are, so he and his agent know the situation, so he will not leave this transfer window," the Belgian stated.

Josh Sargent actions amid Norwich City, Toronto FC transfer talk presents Philippe Clement with potential dilemma

With the aforementioned transfer talks believed to have substance behind them, Clement's thoughts on the saga could present the Belgian with a short-term dilemma, particularly if a deal is to be rejected.

There is no denying that Sargent holds the qualities to aid a survival mission for City, still scoring seven times in 23 appearances despite the club's dismal fortunes.

However, if he continues to make himself unavailable whilst the Belgian has no intention of seeing the striker leave his squad, then friction could surface, only adding to Norwich's woes that have been well-publicised in recent times.