Sargent situation 'difficult' for everyone - McLean

Norwich City captain Kenny McLean says the protracted departure of striker Josh Sargent has been "difficult" to deal with for his team-mates and other staff connected with the club.

USA international Sargent is set to complete a move to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC, having not played for the Canaries since making himself unavailable for last month's FA Cup tie against Walsall.

The Canaries are believed to have agreed a deal which will see them receive an initial £15.5m, rising to more than £20m with add-ons.

"I get the fans' frustration completely - a couple of months ago we were talking about having the best player in the Championship," McLean told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Then we lost him and it's not nice for anybody. I've got so much love for Josh's family, so I'm not going to say anything bad towards him.

"I'm sure the fans would enjoy it if I did but it's a situation that's played out the way nobody wanted it to."

Midfielder McLean said there had been "constant questions" about the Sargent situation around the club and in the dressing room in recent weeks.

"I've had my say to the lads, to Josh, to the club but that will stay in house," he added. "It's been difficult, of course, but it's resolved now so we can move on."

Sargent has scored 56 goals in 157 appearances for Norwich since joining from Werder Bremen in 2021 and began this season with a bang by netting six times in their opening five games.

But he has managed only two further strikes since then and has been sidelined by head coach Philippe Clement, who was appointed in November, since Sargent sent a text to say he did not want to play against Walsall because of "transfer things in his head".

Norwich have climbed out of the Championship's relegation places since Clement's arrival, but suffered a setback on Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Birmingham City despite McLean's fierce drive into the top corner giving them hope of a point.

They will look to bounce back positively on Wednesday when they host already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday at Carrow Road.

"It's a defeat, but at the end we were pushing (forward) and would have loved the game to go an extra 10 minutes," said Scotland international McLean.

"The fans will be straight behind us (against Wednesday) because they see what we're giving. We're responding to them, they're responding to us and things are looking up definitely."