To most Americans who don’t follow soccer, the name Josh Sargent won’t mean much, but to Norwich City’s fans across the pond, he is their lifeline. The 21-year-old is carrying the expectations of the Norwich supporters as they battle to avoid relegation to the minor league below the English Premier League, known as the Championship. Indeed, the man from Missouri is their captain America and his form over the next five months will have a huge bearing on whether Norwich, who are affectionately referred to as the Canaries, are able to keep playing in the best soccer league in the world.
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) August 9, 2021
You can see why Sargent is the man that the Norwich City faithful are pinning their hopes on: the club was completely written off at the start of the season, in terms of avoiding relegation. In essence, the Norwich supporters had been conditioned to think they were already relegated given how poor their team was at the start of the campaign. It felt as if the team was going through the motions, however, a managerial change that saw Daniel Farke leave the club actually resulted in more positive performances from the side and a revived spirit among fans. Sargent is now at the forefront of the resurgence.
The Canaries have remarkably pulled themselves out of the relegation zone but still, they are odds-on to be relegated. If you were to take a look at the latest English soccer betting on the Caesars sportsbook in Tennessee, you would see Norwich at odds of -500 to be demoted to the minor league. Needless to say, and owing to Norwich’s red-hot form, a lot of punters will be taking up the sportsbook’s offer of a $1,001 Bet Match bonus as the Canaries position themselves to take off from the basement of the table.
Quite simply, it would be the greatest escape if the Canaries could take flight from the peril they find themselves in by landing further up the table come to the end of the season. For that to happen, however, their best player Sargent will have to be at his absolute best.
The best way to enjoy Josh Sargent’s amazing goal is to watch it from every angle imaginable 😍
📐 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙇𝙀𝙎 of that Josh Sargent stunner… #NCFC pic.twitter.com/R190p9uqVm
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 25, 2022
It should be said that the omens are encouraging after Sargent finally sprang into life after a slow start in East Anglia. All in all, it ended up taking the American player 18 games to have any real positive impact on the outcome of one of Norwich’s games. Nonetheless, Sargent’s skills were there for all to see in a dramatic 2-1 win over fellow relegation rivals Everton, when he assisted a goal that the opposition would turn into their own net.
Better yet, the 21-year-old frontman scored two goals in the following game to help the Canaries beat Watford, who are currently fighting even harder to stay in the Premier League. In truth, and without being overly dramatic, it was a seismic week for Norwich as they dared to do the impossible by getting themselves to safety, and Sargent’s telling contribution was the reason that the team picked up a vital six points in as many days.
If Sargent is able to lead his team in the English Premier League to safety then you can be certain that his fellow countryman will be a lot more familiar with the name.
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