Josh Sargent’s move to Wolfsburg has been thrown into doubt after reports in Germany have suggested the Bundesliga side have pulled out of a deal with Norwich City.
The Canaries were locked in negotiations with Die Wölfe over the past few weeks to get a move over the line for the American international, with their most recent offer, a much higher bid than their previous offers, still falling short of City’s valuation. With another season of Championship football, it has been widely expected that the former Werder Bremen man would move on from Carrow Road this summer.
Deal On The Rocks
After Roma showed a brief interest in Sargent in early June, Wolfsburg emerged as a possible destination for the 25-year-old, who have recruited from the Championship this season with an eight-figure deal for Sheffield United’s Vini Souza. Whilst reports had initially suggested over their latest bid that both clubs were on the verge of an agreement, no deal has gone through.
However, according to German outlet Wolfsburger Allemagne, the local paper of the Lower Saxony side, the German side have walked away from a move, unwilling to match Norwich’s ‘over €20 million (£17.3 million)’ price tag for Sargent. It also states that the most recent bid from Wolfsburg was €19 million (£16.4 million).
The Bundesliga side also look set to retain their star Danish striker Jonas Wind, despite recent reports that he would move on from the club due to an impasse in contract negotiations. The 26-year-old has one year left on his deal at the club, having helped the club to an 11th-place finish in the league last season.
Burnley’s interest in Sargent remains, according to the Pink ‘Un, but Scott Parker’s side are also weighing up other alternatives within the striker market, fresh off re-signing Ashley Barnes from Norwich six months previously. Liam Manning’s side have already sealed the signing of what should be Sargent’s replacement in Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby.
Writers’ View
With negotiations slowly progressing towards completion in recent weeks, this major curveball has seen the deal for Josh Sargent collapse. Wolfsburg are seemingly not willing to pay a substantial fee for Norwich City’s standout striker and someone who is a known quantity within German football. Whilst not entirely comfortable on the Premier League stage for City, Sargent is one of the best strikers in the EFL right now and Norwich want to extract that talent into value, as they have done with Borja Sainz earlier in the window. Whether Burnley advances their interest remains to be seen, but this could be a major sign towards the American staying in Norfolk this season.
