.png)
21 hours ago
4
Josh Sargent joined Toronto FC from Norwich City in England’s second-tier League Championship on Friday, ending a difficult situation in which the striker was exiled to the under-21 squad after he refused to play in an FA Cup match last month.
Sargent, 26, was signed as a designated player through the 2030-31 MLS season. He had eight goals this season and 56 goals in 157 appearances with the Canaries overall
ESPN reported that Toronto will pay Norwich a transfer fee of $22m, which could rise to $27m with add-ons. The fee would rank as one of the largest in MLS history, alongside the $26.5m Los Angeles FC paid for Son Heung-min and the $22m that Atlanta United paid to acquire Emmanuel Latte Lath.
“Regardless of the manner of his departure, Josh has been a significant part of the club’s recent story, contributing greatly and captaining the team on many occasions,” Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper said in a statement. “He now moves on and we wish him well for his next step, and for his future beyond.”
Sargent had been locked in a protracted saga with Norwich after making himself unavailable for their FA Cup match against Walsall on 11 January in an effort to force a transfer, with Toronto his first choice. Norwich then sent Sargent to the club’s under-21 team as a practice player.
“It was unfortunate how things worked out there, I think,” Sargent told ESPN about Norwich. “But I’m happy to finally be here, happy to get started with a new chapter in my life and I’m just fully focused on trying to put that behind me and hit the ground running here.”
Sargent is a Missouri native who signed with Germany’s Werder Bremen in 2018 and joined Norwich three years later. A member of the 2022 US World Cup team, he appears to be behind Folarin Balogun, Haji Wright, Ricardo Pepi and Patrick Agyemang in the competition for forward spots on the 2026 World Cup roster.
“He brings high-level experience in some of the strongest leagues in the world and international pedigree at just 26 years old. He is a proven goal scorer, with a winning mentality and the intelligence that will lead our attack for years to come,” Toronto general manager Jason Hernandez said. “Josh will just begin to enter the prime of his career while representing our club and our city.”
Sargent has five goals in 29 international appearances, scoring in his US debut against Bolivia on 28 May 2018. He played in all three group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup.
But he hasn’t scored an international goal since November 2019 and was not on the US roster for last summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup. His last international appearance was when he started in a September friendly against South Korea.
Toronto acquired St Louis City’s right of first refusal for Sargent in exchange for $500,000 in general allocation money over the next two years and additional funds if performance metrics are met.
