Josh Sargent’s Norwich status unchanged with one transfer deadline down, another to go

Despite the English transfer window closing on Monday, there remains no update in Toronto FC’s pursuit of Norwich City and U.S. men’s national team forward Josh Sargent.

Sargent’s future is not necessarily bound to the window abroad, as the MLS winter window is open until March 26, so Toronto has plenty of time to sign and register the player if a deal can be struck. Sources remain confident an agreement with Norwich can happen, especially after the English Championship club signed another forward ahead of deadline day, 21-year-old Australia and Randers striker Mohamed Touré.

Norwich, though, insists Toronto’s opening $18 million bid is insufficient to sanction a departure, even as the forward trains with the U-21s. The saga stems from Sargent submitting a transfer request to the club and refusing to play in an FA Cup match vs. Walsall on Jan. 11. Sargent, who is under contract through 2028, hasn’t played for the club since.

Toronto would like a deal to be reached sooner rather than later, with the opening match of the 2026 MLS season looming on Feb. 21.

The club’s offer for Sargent is also hurt by the weakening value of the American dollar (despite TFC being a Canadian club, MLS teams conduct business in U.S. dollars). Norwich accepted a £21 million offer from Wolfsburg in July 2025, which at the exchange rate in the summer was valued at about $28 million. Toronto’s offer of $18 million currently checks in at just £13 million, which is why Norwich is so reluctant to sell at that price.

In a market where players like fellow U.S. forward Ricardo Pepi are commanding fees of around £30 million (from Fulham to PSV), which ultimately was not accepted, there is belief that Sargent’s value won’t drop much less than £13 million even if he spent the rest of the season playing with Norwich’s under-21s.

There is no rush to make a decision, as MLS’s window remains open for more than a month. But the belief is that Toronto is going to have to up its offer to get Norwich to budge on its stance.