To many outsiders, Norwich City’s January window was overshadowed by Josh Sargent’s behavior, which has received a lot of attention.

In fairness, it’s easy to understand why. Sargent was regarded as the best player at Carrow Road, and after alerting manager Philippe Clement that he did not want to face Walsall in the FA Cup, the USA international is said to have had a disagreement with sporting director Ben Knapper.

Meanwhile, Clement sent Sargent to train with the U21s, while Toronto continues to negotiate a multi-million pound trade for the 25-year-old.

Norwich City has excelled without Josh Sargent.

That’s a bad position for any new manager to inherit, but it was made worse for Clement because his Canaries were in relegation trouble.

While Clement’s hard attitude with Sargent earned him praise, the reality is that he was taking a significant risk given Norwich’s place in the league. If things had gone wrong, questions would be raised about why the boss had alienated his star player.

However, that is not what Clement is about; he understands that the collective is more essential than any person, and the results show that the group has bought into this.

Including the three games Sargent missed due to injury in December, Norwich has played seven games without their talisman under Clement. In that time, they’ve won five, drawn one, and lost one, a tremendous return.

Even with Sargent on the team, the improvements under Clement have been significant. Overall, the Belgians have 24 points from 15 games, which has forced them out of the relegation zone.

If you extrapolate it over the course of the entire season, Norwich would be in the play-offs. Again, it’s worth noting that this is with a team that was headed for League One before Clement arrived.

Norwich City will be dreaming of a Premier League comeback under Philippe Clement.

Perhaps the most pleasant aspect of all of this for Norwich is how Clement has improved the team’s performance.

We understand that 15 games is a tiny sample size, but the Norfolk team has been put to the test in a variety of ways, and they have consistently come out on top.

They have defeated possible relegation rivals like as West Brom and Charlton in high-pressure games, battled to victory at Wrexham, worked brilliantly without the ball to beat Southampton, and demonstrated their brilliance to defeat leaders Coventry.

That versatility is due to Clement, and while Norwich have defined ideas for how they want to play, he is showing to be a good tactician on a game-by-game basis.

Furthermore, several individuals have improved drastically under Clement, with Makama being the most obvious example, with the former Lincoln man assuring that the idea of life without Sargent is not intimidating at all.

Despite their outstanding form, Clement will be aware that Norwich still have a long way to go before they can breathe freely, and the neutrals are bracing themselves for an epic survival battle.

Nonetheless, Norwich fans may be forgiven for looking beyond this season with optimism, since it’s natural to wonder what will happen if Clement gets a complete pre-season with the squad, as well as more new arrivals to help the club.

After a frustrating few years, the mood at Carrow Road was low during Liam Manning’s disastrous tenure, with fans protesting and demanding change.

Nonetheless, Clement has managed to unite Norwich’s fans and players, and if the club begins the next season in the Championship, you can bet the manager will be gunning for promotion.