It appears that the divide between striker Josh Sargent, a reported Toronto FC transfer target, and Norwich City has intensified.
Sky Sports News reports that the 25-year-old U.S. international had a “heated row” with Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper after being called into a meeting with coach Philippe Clement. Sky says Sargent walked out of the meeting “visibly upset after an alleged remark about his family.”
Sargent, who is married with three young children, reportedly wants to return to North America for family reasons.
Norwich is currently 20th in England’s second-tier Championship at 8-14-6, two points above the relegation zone.
Sargent has been dropped from first-team training since not making himself available for an FA Cup third-round game against League Two’s Walsall on Jan. 11.
“What he did was not acceptable for anybody in the club,” Clement told a pre-match news conference Jan. 16. “He knows (that) and that is the situation now, so I don’t think there’s much more to say about that now.”
Sky says while Norwich will welcome Sargent back if he apologizes, the player is not interested.
Toronto has reportedly submitted an offer of US$18 million. While the MLS club has declined to comment on the Sargent speculation, general manager Jason Hernandez has said landing a marquee attacker is a priority.
Sargent, from O’Fallon, Mo., fits the bill.
Signing with Germany’s Werder Bremen on his 18th birthday, Sargent scored 11 goals in 83 games across all competitions. Sargent made history in his senior debut against Fortuna Duesseldorf, scoring with his first touch to record the fastest goal by a debutant in the club’s history.
He joined Norwich on Aug. 9, 2021, on a four-year contract and has gone on to score 56 goals for the Canaries in 157 games. He subsequently signed a new deal that runs until 2028.
On the international front, he became the youngest player to score for the U.S. at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup at the age of 17 in May 2017. Also in 2017, he became the first U.S. player to participate at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups and be called up to the senior team in the same calendar year.
That same year, he was named U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year. Sargent has won 29 caps for the U.S. senior side with five goals and one assist.
Norwich recently signed Canadian international Ali Ahmed, with the former Vancouver Whitecap impressing with his play.
Toronto is currently holding its pre-season camp in Marbella, Spain. The six forwards in camp have a total of 45 career MLS regular-season goals with Derrick Etienne Jr., (20) and Deandre Kerr (15) accounting for 35 of them.
Theo Corbeanu has six goals and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint four.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2026
The Canadian Press
