Norwich City: Iwan Roberts issues Gabriel Sara summer transfer prediction | OneFootball

Iwan Roberts has predicted that Norwich City’s Gabriel Sara will be the subject of transfer speculation this summer.

The midfielder has been a key figure for the Canaries so far this season, starting in all 37 of the team’s league games (all stats from Fbref).

The Brazilian has contributed nine goals and 11 assists, with his side chasing a top six finish in the Championship.

Sara has been the most productive player in David Wagner’s team in the second division this term, with six more goal contributions than the next best player.

The Brazilian was signed in the summer of 2022 from Sao Paulo in a deal worth an initial £11 million, but the figure will rise as high £13 million as it includes add-ons.

Ex-Norwich City striker Iwan Roberts issues Gabriel Sara transfer prediction

Former Norwich striker Roberts - an ex-Wales international who scored 97 times in 306 appearances for the Canaries - has predicted that Sara will be the subject of transfer speculation this summer regardless of whether the Norfolk club gains promotion or not.

He believes that Norwich will be able to command a much higher fee than what they paid for him due to his excellent performances this term.

“I don’t know what the club paid for him - it wasn’t stupid money, but he’ll go for a lot more if he is to go”, wrote Roberts, via Pink Un.

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a few Premier League clubs sniffing about come the summer, whether the club go up or whether they miss out.

“He’s just a very, very technically gifted footballer, but he has got that other gritty side to his game.

“He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work, doesn’t mind getting his tackles in, doesn’t mind putting himself about a bit.”

Sara has been a standout figure for the team this year, contributing 0.55 goals or assists per 90 minutes.

If Norwich are to gain promotion to the Premier League, then it will in part due to the impressive performances of the midfielder, who has turned games on their head at times in the current campaign.

Sara could be worth in excess of £20 million for Norwich City this summer

Sara has been excellent this season, and has shown his potency in both scoring and assisting goals.

The fee - whilst pretty big for a Championship club - paid for him will have proven completely worthwhile if the team gains promotion this season,

But even if the player does attract attention, Norwich could reasonably set an asking price in excess of £20 million for Sara, albeit that will only be £9 million profit.

He has a contract with the Canaries until the summer of 2026, meaning there is no rush to cash in on him just yet, and given the fact that West Ham, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig and Torino were said to be either interested or watching Sara at the end of last season, there's likely to be similar parties in the mix.