Norwich boss makes plans clear as West Ham eye £35m raid for 33-goal Championship duo

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As West Ham United’s London neighbours Crystal Palace demonstrated at Wembley only a few weeks ago, there is plenty of value to be found in the Championship for those willing to take the plunge.

Ebere Eze, signed from Queens Park Rangers, scored the goal which secured Crystal Palace their first major trophy. Adam Wharton, brought in from Blackburn Rovers a year-and-a-half ago, ran the show against Manchester City’s megastars.

Captain Marc Guehi, the man who lifted the FA Cup, joined Palace after making his name on loan at Swansea City. And this is without mentioning Michael Olise, the £8 million addition from Reading who provided a staggering 38 goal contributions during a sensational debut season at Bayern Munich.

So while Hammers News understands that chairman David Sullivan has reservations about the Championship market – Flynn Downes struggled and the injury-hit Crysencio Summerville is yet to justify his £30 million price-tag – it appears that West Ham United might just be ready to take a leaf out of Crystal Palace’s playbook.

Josh Brownhill is in talks to join West Ham on a free transfer. The Burnley skipper scored a career-best 18 goals from central midfield as Scott Parker’s side secured automatic promotion in 2024/25.

Hammers News understands that Norwich City’s free-scoring forward duo of Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz are under consideration at the London Stadium too.

Norwich will demand big fees as West Ham United eye Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz

Sargent and Sainz scored 33 Championship goals between them last season, the latter narrowly missing out on the Golden Boot to Leeds United frontman Joel Piroe.

Since the summer of 2018, Norwich have sold six players for eight-figure sums. James Maddison, Emi Buendia, Jonathan Rowe, Ben Godfrey, Andrew Omobamidele and Gabriel Sara.

And sporting director Ben Knapper insists that, having already turned down a £13 million bid from FC Porto for Borja Sainz, The Canaries will not let any of Liam Manning’s current squad leave on the cheap with Sargent likely to be subject to many approaches himself over the coming weeks.

“Going forward, it’s key to our strategy. Things have to be right for us [in order to sell], and that’ll be no different this window,” Knapper tells the Pink ‘Un. “Sometimes in football, you can place so much emphasis on the recruitment of players.

“You spend so much time and energy really trying to recruit in the smartest, best possible way, but you have to apply that same level of attention the other way as well. And selling players is equally important.

“I think we’ve managed to do that well. Historically, it’s a big focus for us.

“It’s a busy time of year,” adds Knapper, who worked as the loan manager for Premier League powerhouses Arsenal before heading to Carrow Road. Obviously, there’s lots going on, but we’ve prepared for this for a long time as well.

“So a lot of that work is already done. And of course, things can develop quickly at this time of year.

“But you know this time of year recruitment dominates a lot of the conversations that we’ll have and that means lots of work around squad planning and looking at targets and discussing situations that might unfold.”

Sainz and Sargent scored 33 Championship goals last season for Norwich

According to reports, Sainz and Sargent are valued in the region of a combined £35 million by Norwich City.

The former has also been linked with Napoli and Athletic Bilbao; Borja Sainz a versatile attacking midfielder who excels when drifting between the lines. USA international Sargent, meanwhile, has blossomed into arguably the most complete centre-forward in the Football League.

An emphatic finisher, yes, but also a striker who excels when bringing others into play and pressing from the front.

As things stand, Niclas Fullkrug will be West Ham’s only senior centre-forward come July with Evan Ferguson, Danny Ings and Michail Antonio departing.

And with Taty Castellanos the latest striker target ruled out of contention – Lazio have labelled the Argentina international ‘unsellable’ – Sargent could find himself charging towards the top of West Ham’s striker wishlist.