With a solution yet to be found for Norwich City's striking problems, Samuel Seaman highlights five potential Josh Sargent replacements in the Canaries' squad.
Onel Hernandez
This might have been a rather leftfield suggestion just a few months ago, but Hernandez may be as close to Sargent as Johannes Hoff Thorup has to choose from in his squad.
The Cuban's physicality is unmatched by his more conventional striking colleagues, with an ability to hold the ball up and keep defenders away from it that City have been lacking without their talisman. He's also got the pace and directness to run in behind, creating space for his midfield team-mates to enjoy.
The 31-year-old put all of that to good use in a central role as Norwich beat Stevenage 4-3, bagging a brace in a confidence-boosting Carabao Cup performance. It's an admittedly large step up, but if he can apply that to Championship level then he could be an asset up front.
Almost undoubtedly the most natural goalscorer in the City side at present, there are few who will need telling why Sainz could be considered a traditional 'number nine'.
His finishing has been consistently excellent this term, his first thought is always how he can score and he's certainly got the running power to get the wrong side of defenders. Plenty of the ingredients are there.
But when it comes to that strength he's lacking, and hold-up play isn't his forte. Add to that the fact that he'd be taken away from a position where he's already scored 12 goals and the drawbacks are also fairly obvious.
Aside from his short-lived strong start in yellow and green, fans have been calling for Fassnacht to play more centrally for almost the entirety of his time in Norfolk.
Although most of his career has been spent out wide, he is a fairly unconventional winger and looks like he could be better suited to a position where his technical ability is more important than some of his athletic flaws.
Thorup has clearly considered that too, given his deployment as a striker in the Dane's very first Norwich friendly against Northampton Town back in July, but it would be a big role for someone who's just returned from a long injury lay-off.
Talking of injury lay-offs, Barnes will be desperate to make up for his by making the position his own before Sargent returns.
He's been on the absentee list since May, when his last appearance for the club was the play-off semi-final defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road. Achilles surgery and then a setback have extended that absence to more than six months, with the former Burnley man only recently resuming training.
He may have come back at just the right time while City are in desperate need of a striker, although there are doubts as to whether his skillset matches the sort of profile his new boss requires.
Whether the Ante Crnac striking experiment has ended remains to be seen, but he was initially signed to be an option centrally as well as out wide.
Even in his young career he has plenty of experience through the middle, and it's no coincidence he was brought in for a similar fee to the one Celtic paid for Adam Idah very shortly after the Irishman departed.
It just hasn't worked so far for Crnac, especially not centrally, but there is a question mark over whether he's been afforded enough time. Aged just 20 and arriving from a country where football is almost entirely different, has he been written off too early as the Sargent replacement?
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel