Norwich City must prepare for potential loss of star asset | OneFootball

With 11 goals already in the Championship, Norwich City will have to prepare for the departure of key man Borja Sainz

With 11 goals in 15 appearances this season, it is safe to say that Norwich City's Borja Sainz is enjoying his best season with the club, having already netted four more times than in the previous campaign. However, with great success comes great responsibility, and now the weight of the club's performances rests on his shoulders. Rightly so, he is attracting a lot of attention from big teams and the Norfolk outfit may have to prepare for his departure in January.

The Norwich wide man currently boasts the league's most goals and most combined goals and assists, two statistics which have garnered a lot of attention. With a January exit possible, we examine who would need to step up to fill his shoes at Norwich, and who the club may purchase to replace him.

Borja Sainz has been on fire for Norwich City

The most obvious indicator of Borja Sainz's quality this season is from his raw number of goal contributions. 13 combined goals and assists, with 11 of those being times he found the net himself. He has put some distance between himself and his competitors. West Brom's Josh Maja is the closest, but he is already two strikes adrift of the Spaniard.

But it is not only the most blatant of statistics in which he stands out. Borja Sainz ranks in the top percentile in nearly every attacking attribute.

The standout figure here is that the Spanish winger manages 1.22 shots on target per game. This is quite an astounding statistic, given that he operates off the left flank. He outperforms top strikers like Joel Piroe and Callum Robinson, despite being a winger, and this level of quality certainly does not go unnoticed.

Able to function in a narrow front three in manager Johannes Hoff Thorup's 4-3-3 formation, this has unleashed Sainz's potential and given way to a proven goalscoring instinct.

Norwich City players will need to step up if Borja Sainz departs

When examining Norwich's season so far, the table shows that they have scored a total of 23 goals. This means that Borja Sainz's contribution marks nearly 50% of Norwich's total goals. Losing him would be catastrophic.

Galatasaray are one club thought to be interested in Sainz, who could reasonably demand upward of £20m this winter.

The real issue with the sale of Sainz is that most of Norwich's forward players are right-wingers. Oscar Schwartau, Ante Crnac and Christian Fassnacht are all more suited to operating off the right-hand side, which would cause a personnel crisis for Danish manager Thorup.

Cuban international Onel Hernandez is a potential option, but he has only played 52 minutes of league football this season. All in all, given Norwich's squad depth, it would seem most likely that they will look for a new signing if Sainz were to depart.

Norwich City may sign a new left-winger if Sainz leaves

An excellent candidate to fill the void left by the little Spaniard could be Peterborough's Kwame Poku. Although predominantly a right-winger, Poku's status as a left-footed player means he would slot into Thorup's system perfectly. 10 goals and five assists in 15 League One games does not lie either.

The only issue with this idea is that Poku is already attracting a lot of attention from Blackburn Rovers, so his signature may be particularly tough to secure.

Another potential short-term fix to the issue could be to sign Ryan Fraser from Southampton. The former Newcastle and Bournemouth man has struggled for game time so far, starting only two Premier League games, but has proven quality at Championship level. The drop back down to help Norwich push for a play-off spot could tempt him away from St. Mary's.

Regardless of with whom Norwich may replace Sainz, the only real certainty is that the winger would leave a massive hole in Johannes Hoff Thorup's side. A hole that would not be easy to fill.

Norwich simply must prepare for his exit, whether that's by identifying someone within their current squad who can carry the club's main goalscoring threat or targeting a signing from elsewhere. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, a statement that could ring true for Norwich and Sainz heading into 2025.