From St Louis to Norwich: The inside story of Josh Sargent's journey to the Premier League

Welcome to St. Louis, the first soccer capital of America, a place where the world’s most popular sport thrived long before it grew to become mainstream nationwide. It’s “rooted in the culture”, according to Kevin Kalish, head coach of the St. Louis Billikens.

Speaking with SoccerAmerica in 2017, Kalish explained, “There’s a lot of third- and fourth-generation players […] There are a lot of kids who grew up with dads and moms who played, and I think when you have that kind of DNA in a city, you see a lot of parents who make soccer an important part of their kids’ lives.”

Josh Sargent was one such kid. Parents Jeff and Liane both played at college level, with young Josh – aged just three – catching the bug early. “He just played with me in the living room or the back yard or whatever,” Jeff told USSoccer in 2018. “And I was like, ‘Oh, he might be pretty good here,’ but we didn’t know.”

With no league for kids of Josh’s age in the Sargent’s home of O’Fallon, his parents had to tell a little white lie to get him a place on a team – “We kind of had to fib and say he was four” – before watching on to see him score nine goals in his first game. “So we were like, ‘Hmm…’” said Jeff.

“He told everyone that would listen that he was going to be a professional soccer player,” Liane recalled to St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2016, telling his parents that he wanted to go and play soccer over in Europe. “I was real little and people would just smile and say, ‘That’s nice’,” added Josh. “I’m not sure anyone took me seriously.”

When turning eight, Josh joined Scott Gallagher Soccer Club, where he would cross paths with Kalish who, at the time, was the club’s Vice President and Club Director. “From a young age, he stood out for being an ideal player to coach and an ideal player to have as a teammate,” Kalish told SoccerAmerica. “At 11 or 12, did we think he could go far? 100%, yes.”

In the 2015 Development Academy Play-Offs, Josh faced off against players born in 1998, as someone born in 2000, with his potential growing ever more obvious. “They beat the Galaxy in the first game,” said Kalish, with LA Galaxy’s academy considered one of the best in America, before then losing to eventual national champions, FC Dallas, though, “Josh was just a menace the entire game.”

“That’s when things really started getting a lot more serious,” Josh told USSoccer in 2018 of his time with Scott Gallagher. “I think Gallagher and their coaches did a really good job of nurturing me into a better soccer player.”

“I know some parents push their kids a lot, but I never had to push him,” Jeff said to FourFourTwo in 2017. “He was always getting me off the couch and making me go out and play with him, he was just that kind of kid. That’s something that was in Josh – I didn’t give that to him. He had that.”

By now, Josh was making waves on the national scene, having spent time training with the U14 and U15 age groups, before then being invited to join the prestigious U17 residency program down in Bradenton, Florida, some 1,000 miles from home.

“To this day, I think it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Josh admitted to USSoccer in 2018. “Being in an environment surrounded by the best players in the country, just pushing you every day.” Reflecting further with St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Josh said that while hard to leave family and friends, it “definitely moved my game up a level”.

The program, which ended in 2017 after 18 years, owed to the rise of academies throughout the country, saw players live on a campus at the IMG Academy, training in the morning under the guidance of US U17 men’s national team coaching staff, before attending classes in the afternoon.

Joining in 2016, Sargent played a starring role and captained the team through the Nike International Friendlies as they beat Portugal, Turkey and Brazil to win the series. Sargent himself scored four goals, including a hattrick in a 7-1 demolition of Portugal.

One of Josh’s coaches at the time, John Hackworth, told St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “He has a ton of talent for his age. He has a tremendous work ethic. He trains the way he plays, all out. At this point, he’s doing the right things and proving he belongs.”

As for the professional game, Josh was edging closer to that too, having spent time training with the likes of Sporting Kansas City and PSV Eindhoven during 2016, but it was the following year where things really took off for the young American.

He captained the US U17 men’s national team (MNT) at the 2017 CONCACAF Championships and scored five goals in six games, as well as earning a place on the tournament’s best XI. Despite losing in the final to Mexico on penalties – Josh scored his – they earned qualification to the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup, set to be played in India later in the year.

So good had been his performances at the tournament, Josh found himself lining up to play the first game of the FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea, just 15 days later.

“Their first game was like 3AM St. Louis time,” father, Jeff, recalled to USSoccer in 2018. “I set the alarm and it went off at 3 and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s probably not going to play until the end anyway.’ I almost slept in.”

Dragging himself downstairs, Jeff found his son lining up for the national anthems, before watching on to see him score two goals in a 3-3 draw versus Ecuador.

Josh continued impressing throughout the tournament, scoring the only goal of the game in a victory over Senegal as the US advanced into the next round. There, they beat New Zealand 6-0, with Josh scoring once more, only to exit in the quarter-finals after extra-time against Venezuela.

Reflecting on the experience with USSoccer, Josh spoke on the “completely different roles” he found himself in, just a matter of days apart.

“With the 17s obviously being the captain and a leader, and with the 20s like three days later, I was going into a team that I had barely known and I didn’t even know if I would play at all in the World Cup. I just thought I was going for a good experience and everything, I had to change my mindset very quickly!”

By now, Josh’s progress was catching the interest of those in Europe, with a growing number of admirers.

According to USSoccer, Stuttgart, Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach and even Manchester City were among those mulling a move, with Josh facing a big decision ahead of turning 18 in the following February – the moment where, as per FIFA rules, he would be eligible to join a club in Europe.

For the time being, he was back home in St. Louis for the summer, reflecting on a whirlwind start to a breakout 2017. “The whole thing is very surreal. I’m a little in shock, honestly,” he said. “I’ve still got to catch up on everything that’s gone on with him,” added Jeff. “But the best part is he’s still remaining the same person he was before all tis happened. And I’m so proud of him for that.”

Despite the very real prospect of a move to Europe just months away, Josh spent the summer babysitting his little sister, playing golf, helping out around the house and hanging out with girlfriend, Kirsten. “I don’t think he’ll ever change,” said mum, Liane. “That’s just the way he is.”

Come September, Josh sealed his future by agreeing a move to Werder Bremen.

“It’s been very fun travelling around the world looking at different clubs,” Josh said, as he prepared to lead the US U17 MNT to the World Cup in India. “In the end, I think it was just that gut feeling that Bremen felt like home.”

As for the Bremen perspective, head of scouting, Tim Steidten, explained that it had been no greater surprise to see Josh’s “brilliant performances” attract interest on an international scale.

Steidten added: “Therefore we are extremely happy that despite the numerous offers from other top clubs in Europe, he was convinced by our philosophy at SV Werder and that we can now oversee his development as a player and support him along the way. He has a great understanding of the game and he is one of the most promising talents of his age in the world.”

In India, Josh became just the second US men’s player to compete for both the U17 and U20 World Cup squads in the same year, following in the footsteps of Freddy Adu. He scored three goals at the World Cup, including a consolation as the US exited the tournament up against eventual winners, England.

Still, he was not done there and in the final months of 2017, he became the first American player ever to appear in an U17, U20 and senior camp in the same calendar year, when selected for a friendly for the USMNT against Portugal. Only a minor injury prevented him from making his first appearance.

Unsurprisingly, Josh was crowned US Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year.

Josh officially joined Werder Bremen when turning 18 in February, though was unable to play in official matches until the following season, giving him time to get to grips with the transition to a new country while training with the first-team and academy.

“It was tough at the beginning, obviously just getting used to the language and the food and everything,” Josh told USSoccer in summer 2018. While unable to play for Bremen, he did make his debut for the USMNT towards the end of the season, scoring in a 3-0 win over Bolivia.

“It’s such a huge step going overseas,” admitted Steidten. “I think as a player just coming in, especially a young player, it’s really hard for them if you don’t speak the language and you don’t understand your teammates. Josh has had his time to get in and learn some words and learn some German.”

As the 2018-19 season came around, Josh was now able to start playing in competitive matches for Bremen. He duly made his debut for the U23 side and scored against Eintracht Norderstedt in Germany’s fourth tier, before going on to net seven times in 12 games, proving enough to move him up to the first-team.

Coming on as a sub against Fortuna Düsseldorf in December, Josh scored with his very first touch.

His second goal of the season came a few weeks later away to RB Leipzig, with his debut season in Germany bringing 2 goals in 10 games and the award of a long-term contract in February. “If you see Josh in the dressing room, in training or on a matchday, you see someone who wants to watch and learn – not just a very talented young footballer,” said coach Florian Kohlfeldt, as the ink dried on that new contract.

The young American was also impressing some of his older teammates, including former Chelsea and Bayern Munich frontman, Claudio Pizarro.

“What I didn’t have to tell him was to keep his feet on the ground, because Josh is a calm guy and that does not happen to him. I’ve told Josh he needs to continue like this. When you score goals, you gain self-confidence and if you also have quality, more and more goals will come.”

Pizarro had become something of a mentor for Josh, who described him as “like a father to me, but not a strict one”, adding, “He shows me little things I can do to play a bit smarter.”

Looking back to his early days with Bremen in 2020, Josh told ESPN, “I was very shy when I first joined and you know, a little bit, ‘Can I take that? Can I do this for you?’ But I’ve learned you can’t really be like that over here. You definitely have to be yourself and also show them you’re not just somebody they can ush around, you know?

“In my first few training sessions, I wasn’t very confident in myself. Guys yelling at me for messing up got to me, but you gotta keep trying to push and even if you mess up, just keep going. And if you keep doing it, eventually you’ll get it and get a good rhythm.”

To some surprise, Josh was left out of the USMNT Gold Cup squad at the end of the season, something that he admitted left him “very upset” to ESPN. While still eligible for the U20 squad, such was the expectation he would be part of the Gold Cup campaign, he missed out on that squad too.

Still, he dusted himself down, reset and got ready for a 2019-20 season that would throw up some unique challenges.

It started in spectacular fashion, with Josh scoring his first goal of the season with a superb solo effort against FC Augsburg.

However, a hamstring injury curtailed his progress as the season stretched on, Bremen were struggling against relegation, and the world was soon flipped on its axis by the emergence of Covid-19.

Josh scored his third of the season three minutes into what would prove Bremen’s final game before everything stopped as the virus took a foothold – a 2-2 draw against Hertha Berlin. It left them eight points from certain safety and four behind Fortuna Düsseldorf in the relegation play-off position.

He sat down with ESPN that summer, waiting for the moment either when, or if, the season would resume, to talk his career to date and lockdown habits.

Revelations included that he does not play FIFA – “too close to home” – does play Call of Duty – “if you want to be good at Call of Duty, team up with me” – spent time learning piano during quarantine, and, has a tattoo on his leg that reads, Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

“That’s something actually my dad and I talked about before I came over. He said, This might be a super hard thing to do but, in the end, it’s going to make you grow as a person and it’s going to be such a big experience for you, and you’re young right now. If you hate it, you can always come back to America.”

Similarly, Josh was seeing the relegation battle with Bremen as an opportunity for him to grow as a player.

“It’s just, you know, taking everything in and trying to learn. Ten seasons from now, it’ll for sure be a very valuable experience.” He also assured he and his team would “fight to the end”.

The season did eventually resume, with Werder amassing four wins and a draw in their final 10 games, lifting them into the relegation play-off where they faced off against FC Heidenheim. They came out on top on away goals. Josh finished the season with four goals and four assists in 28 Bundesliga matches.

Onto 2020-21, with new pressures for Josh, namely his coach saying he “can’t imagine a starting XI” without the American.

“I just have to keep working hard,” Josh told Bundesliga.com. “You’re expected to deliver every time you play so it’s the same.” With his sights set on becoming Werder’s top scorer for the new season, he added, “If you’re not shooting for the highest, then there’s not really any point, that’s just how my mindset is.”

While Josh would achieve that target, scoring 7 goals across all competitions in 37 games, Bremen themselves were relegated, avoiding the escape of a year earlier.

After a brace against Fortuna Düsseldorf in the second game of the 2021-22 season, a move to Norwich would soon follow and with his first Premier League goals under his belt, there’s a quote from that interview with Bundesliga.com that seems a worthy note to end on.

“It was my first professional club,” he said of the challenge of starting his professional career in Germany. “I wasn’t the top guy any more, I was coming in from the bottom and had to prove myself. It was very challenging of course but, like I always say, working as hard as you can, can always get you through the hard times and show people that you want to belong here.”