Norwich City: Davitt column on transfer status of City trio..
So long Josh. So long Borja. So long Nacho. That is the fear prior to another three-part transfer drama for Norwich City this summer.
Sargent’s candid admission while away with the US over the international period he may face a crunch career decision at the end of the Championship season sent some into a flutter.
Johannes Hoff Thorup’s follow up reply at Colney on Thursday should be filtered through the clear parallels with last summer’s market activity.
Gabby Sara, Adam Idah. Jon Rowe. The expectation internally before that window opened was at least one would depart, as the financial recalibration in a post-parachute payment world dawned after a failed play-off tilt. In the end it was all three. But in each case, City held out and drove up the price.
Celtic and Marseilles both tabled initial offers that..
Gabby Sara, Adam Idah. Jon Rowe. The expectation internally before that window opened was at least one would depart, as the financial recalibration in a post-parachute payment world dawned after a failed play-off tilt. In the end it was all three. But in each case, City held out and drove up the price.
Celtic and Marseilles both tabled initial offers that fell short of Ben Knapper’s valuations. When they returned to the negotiating table, as pre-season gave way to the start of the real stuff, the scale of the final packages were met with almost universal approval.
Idah remains in large part an option from the bench at Celtic to supplement frontline players. While Rowe has disappeared from view, after an eyecatching start to life on the French Riviera. It would surprise few if this summer marks his return to England, and a loss for OM on the original mandatory purchase deal.
Norwich’s strategy remains unchanged. They operate a player trading model designed to generate revenue and, in turn, sums to re-invest to build an evolving squad which is not solely populated by the Championship’s best number nine, the division’s likely top goalscorer and one of the best technically proficient central midfielders. Rather, a group with the depth of resource to sustain a realistic top six tilt and not simply list in mid-table.
that family photo last week with Knapper, Thorup and members of the club’s executive flying Stateside to meet with Mark and Mike Attanasio, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization, visibly reaffirmed what the Dane labelled at Colney the ‘alignment’ woven through the club.
Which is why City fans should not fear the departures of one, maybe two, maybe all three of their shiniest jewels.
The solutions may be found already in the building, and supplemented by the type of recruitment that Attanasio and Norfolk Holdings have already illustrated they are prepared to bankroll.
Attanasio senior made it clear at last November’s annual shareholder gathering a January 2025 transfer window exit for Sainz would be premature. So it came to pass. But this summer both he and Nunez are on the cusp of the final 12 months of current Carrow Road deals.
Sargent’s insurance policy is a degree longer, 2028 to be precise, but even before his recent public comments there was a sense home might be calling. FC Cincinnati were firm in their interest last summer, but a deal could not be concluded.
Not only is there a US co-hosted World Cup on the horizon in 2026 for the Missourian but a wife and young family who at some point, you would reasonably expect, wish to be closer to their support networks.
What you hope to avoid is the soap operas around the likes of Idah and in particular Rowe that proved an unwanted distraction for a new head coach last summer. That is where a clarity of approach on the club side of the ledger will be invaluable.
Sargent, Sainz and Nunez, for different reasons, may wish to leave but it will still be on City’s terms. Even if the contractual margins with the latter two are somewhat tighter for Knapper to navigate.
Could City keep all three for a concerted Championship promotion push next season? Not beyond the realms of possibility, but it would fly in the face of the model and the financial reality of Championship football. Attanasio is a hugely successful businessman. He is not a philanthropist.
In Sainz and Nunez he has rapidly depreciating assets on the books. If no new contracts can be signed then this coming summer represents the final chance to drive the type of value reflective of their growing status.
Positions are being adopted right now. Final decisions will be communicated beyond the season, and then in all probability it will come down to which clubs are prepared to tango in the transfer market.
The swiftness Sara’s move to Galatasaray was concluded in contrast to the dance that eventually saw both Idah and Rowe get their wishes should offer reassurance to City fans.
Thorup’s calm demeanour at Colney on Thursday cut to a sense ‘solutions’ will be easier to find this time around, with clarity in terms of the ownership structure and the club’s finances.
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