There's a stat about Josh Sargent that illustrates just how prolific the U.S. men's national team star has been over recent years. Since Sargent's arrival at Norwich in 2022, no one player in the Championship has scored more goals than his 38. And while that factoid underscores Sargent's level of achievement, some stats do require deeper diving to fully understand their meaning. This is one of those stats.
There's a reason that Sargent is atop that leaderboard: goalscorers don't hang around in the Championship for long. The very best drag their team to promotion, forcing their way into a Premier League chance. Others get snatched up quickly by bigger clubs in bigger leagues. If a striker can do it in the rough-and-tumble Championship, conventional wisdom says they can do it just about anywhere.
The Championship isn't structured to be a home to top-tier attacking talent. In many ways, it's structured to swiftly push them through.
So that brings us back to Sargent. As he continues to increase those numbers - he has seven goals in his last seven games and 11 on the season - someone has to be watching, right? According to various reports, the answer is yes.
U.S. men's national team boss Mauricio Pochettino is surely one as he prepares to have Sargent lead the line in the CONCACAF Nations League this month, but so too will be suitors, both in the Premier League and elsewhere. For now, Sargent can continue to boost his Championship numbers. But with every goal that pours in, it becomes clearer that his time at this level should come to a close relatively soon.