As the Norwich City manager, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s tenure hasn’t exactly started off to the best start as the Canaries have only won one of their first five Championship games.
The East Anglia team has only managed four goals in that period, with two goals each from Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz helping the former Premier League team earn five points thus far this year.
Those further up the football hierarchy are taking note of Sainz’s impressive start to the season. Reports from Spain indicate Athletic Club is reportedly interested in the former Real Zaragoza player.
The last thing the City manager needs is one of his primary offensive threats to turn on his back, as Thorup is finding it difficult to win games at this early stage of the season. The Spaniard is the most recent player to be linked to a move away from Carrow Road.
Interest in Borja Sainz grows at Athletic Club
Athletic Club is currently keeping an eye on Sainz, according to Spanish media outlet El Correo, following the 23-year-old’s outstanding debut season in the English game.
Sainz, who moved to Norfolk from Turkish team Giresunspor in the summer, scored eight goals throughout the season from his left-side position.
David Wagner took some time to put his faith in him after he scored on his debut in the League Cup against Fulham. However, he eventually paid it forward with a fantastic finish to the season, even though City was eliminated from the playoffs.
This kind of play, together with his striking debut in the current campaign, has piqued the curiosity of the Basque club in the star, who was born in the Spanish autonomous community of Leioa.
Sainz is reportedly one of the names currently on Bilbao’s list of potential replacements for Nico Williams, who is rumoured to be leaving the team in the upcoming year.
Although it will depend on Norwich City’s performance, it is anticipated that any transaction involving the forward will close in the summer of 2025. The report did mention that Sainz is reportedly eager to depart.
The information from Borja Sainz adds to Johannes Hoff Thorup’s unhappiness this summer.
Discontent within the ranks of Norwich City at the beginning of the season resulted from players on the team being the focus of several transfer fights during the summer.
Thorup had a lot on his plate before his new team had played a competitive game. Not only was he supposed to take over a team that was still reeling from playoff sorrow, but the Dane also had a number of high-profile transfer stories to handle.
It’s been quite a turbulent summer at Carrow Road by all accounts, with Adam Idah attempting to force a return to Celtic following a successful loan spell the previous season, Jon Rowe [pictured] scheming for a move to Marseille, and Abu Kamara filing a transfer request to force a move out of the club.
Keeping that in mind, Thorup will want to resolve the Sainz situation as soon as possible, should the Spaniard end up like the next celebrity to give up on the club and put the Norfolk team in even more danger than they already are.
Even if the club is already licking its wounds from a disastrous summer, City will not want to lose one of their main attacking threats. However, the idea of him not reaching his full potential in the hopes of forcing his way out would be even more difficult to accept.
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