How Do 13th Placed Norwich Have The Best Attackers In The Championship?

Not too long ago, Norwich City were seen as a yo-yo club, constantly at the top of the Championship and the bottom of the Premier League. Since 1992, no side has been promoted to the top flight more than Norwich, however that could change this season if West Brom can get into the playoffs and win in Wembley.

Since Norwich’s most recent relegation in the 2021-22 season, the club haven’t made a serious push for a Premier League return. Last year they made the playoffs but were beaten comfortably by Leeds United. This season they are currently in 13th, 10 points outside of the playoffs and with no hope of promotion. Despite this, they have some of the best players in the league, so how could this have happened?

Norwich’s Attacking Numbers

Leeds United, currently sitting at the top of the Championship table, have scored the most goals in the league this season, however you have to move quite far down the standings to find the team that comes in second. Norwich City have scored 63 goals this season yet have still only managed to win 13 games, losing 15.

Borja Sainz has been voted as the best player in the @EFL by the readers of @FourFourTwo magazine 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Nphx5OODaW

— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) April 3, 2025

When they do manage to get a win, they score a lot of goals, blowing away their opponents with ease. In six of their 13 victories, the Canaries have managed to register at least four goals. Back in November, they scored 12 goals across just three games, one of which ended in a draw. Their problems this season have come from inconsistent form, as there have been quite a few games in which they have struggled to score. 1-0 defeats to both Swansea City and Preston North End have highlighted this. In both of these matches, Norwich had gone behind early and then been unable to break down a low block, despite having the majority of the chances.

When they do manage to score goals, it is often Borja Sainz or Josh Sargent who finds the back of the net. Sainz is the league’s top scorer this season with 17 goals, while Sargent has 14, putting him in third in the standings. These two, along with some help from Emiliano Marcondes, have been carrying the club’s incredible attacking numbers this season.

Borja Sainz

The 24-year-old has been Norwich’s main goal threat this season, having the most shots of any player in the league with 110. It may look like Sainz is then just shooting at every given opportunity, however the average xG for one of his shots is 0.13, higher than the next three most active attackers.

Sainz is able to get himself into good goal scoring positions by relying on his ability to carry the ball rather than being on the receiving end of a cross or a perfect through ball. Despite being a forward, the Spaniard has carried the ball for over 7.5km this season and has the most progressive carries that end with a goal among all of the Championship players, with seven.

🔰🔢 𝗜𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 👁️ Sainz 🇪🇸

What did you think of his display❓

Supported by @itsmattsykes 💚#NCFC pic.twitter.com/tFmRp3J9nn

— Talk Norwich City (@TalkNorwichCity) February 15, 2025

His assist numbers aren’t too impressive, however he is still a key creator in the Norwich team. He has created 37 open play chances this campaign, more than anyone else at the club and while he has just four assists, he isn’t massively underperforming his expected assists, which means that his teammates are able to finish off the chances he makes for them.

Josh Sargent

Josh Sargent flopped in his one season in the English top flight, but since then he has developed into an incredibly versatile number nine. He has 19 goal involvements in the league this season, despite missing two months through injury, and is extremely clinical in his forward play. He has a record of 0.58 goals per 90 minutes, which is higher than any other player in the league with 10 or more goals with the exceptions of fellow American striker Haji Wright and Tyrese Campbell.

(Stats by Opta)

What is impressive about Sargent’s stats is that he has the third highest conversion rate of any player in the league who has taken more than 40 shots. Tommy Conway and Josh Maja have conversion rates of 26.09% and 25.00% respectively, but Sargent isn’t too far behind, with 24.56%. On top of that, 49.1% of his shots end up on target, which is significantly better than Conway, Maja and even Sainz.

Callum Doyle And Emiliano Marcondes

Both centre back Callum Doyle and attacking midfielder Emiliano Marcondes joined the club this season, and they are also both contributing to the Norwich City attack. Surprisingly, Norwich’s top assister in the league this season has been Doyle, who has been played as both a centre back, and at times, a full back. Doyle is currently on loan from Manchester City, but looks at home in the Norwich defence, with seven assists this campaign. The vast majority of the chances that he has created have come from long balls that have been latched onto by either Sainz or Sargent who have made runs in behind the opposition’s defensive line. Unfortunately he has missed the last four matches and might not be available again before the end of the season.

(Stats by Opta)

Marcondes was a free agent and spent the first few months of the season without a club before joining Norwich in October. Since then he has scored four times and registered six assists in the league. Both Sainz and Sargent are relatively inexperienced compared to Marcondes, who has spent five seasons in the Championship as well as a number of years in the top flights in Scotland and Denmark. Having a player like Marcondes in such a young team has helped improve the attack as the season has progressed.