European club in talks to secure blockbuster 8-figure Norwich City transfer agreement

Portuguese giants Porto are confident they can seal the signing of Borja Sainz from Norwich City this summer.

According to Record, the two clubs are currently in negotiations after Athletic Club’s interest in the player ended following a new contract for Nico Williams.

Sainz’s future at Carrow Road has been the subject of intense speculation since the end of the Championship season following his impressive performances for the Canaries across 2024-25.

The winger scored 18 times and notched four assists in the league for Norwich, but a 13th-place finish in the second tier has led to increased speculation over a summer exit.

Borja Sainz transfer latest as FC Porto close in on transfer swoop

According to Portuguese reports, it is believed that a deal worth £13 million, plus add-ons, is currently being discussed between Porto and Norwich for Sainz’s services.

It has been claimed that Porto, who finished third in the Primeira Liga last season behind Sporting CP and Benfica, are confident of securing a deal, especially with Athletic Club now out of the running.

The Basque side were considering a move for Sainz as a replacement for Nico Williams, but the forward put pen-to-paper on a new 10-year contract extension to remain with the club.

This has opened the door for Porto, who are now in talks to complete a deal to sign the player after their Club World Cup participation.

Sainz is in the final 12 months of his current Norwich contract, leaving the second division side with little leverage in negotiations.

A departure from Carrow Road is now expected, with the players now back for pre-season for new manager Liam Manning.

Borja Sainz departure was always inevitable due to Norwich City contract situation

Losing Sainz will come as a blow for the Norfolk outfit given his importance to the side last season.

The winger was the team’s top scorer despite being handed a six-game suspension midway through the campaign because of a spitting offence.

Sainz signed for Norwich in the summer of 2023 from Turkish side Giresunspor on a free transfer, agreeing to a three-year deal, but it took him until his second season to really start firing.

The amount of speculation surrounding Sainz meant that a departure was always the most likely outcome this summer, and especially being in the final year of his deal.

City’s underwhelming league finish last year won’t have helped the situation, with Johannes Hoff Thorup losing his job after a 13th place finish.

It will be disappointing for Manning to not get the chance to work with Sainz, and he will now want the club to invest the expected £13 million into finding an adequate replacement.

Norwich will be without a lot of firepower next season unless they find someone who can replicate his quality of threat in the final third.

Coventry City and most of their rivals have been busy behind the scenes trying to improve their squads for the new season

The Championship transfer window, as expected, has shifted up a gear since clubs returned for pre-season and, as expected, it is Coventry City’s Midland rivals Birmingham who have set the pace.

Big-spending Blues have been making a splash in the last few days, getting deals over the line for Demarai Gray, Bright Osaqyi-Samuel, James Beadle and Tommy Doyle as they rebuild their squad after a year in League One.

Fellow promoted side Charlton Athletic have had a busy week too as Nathan Jones has returned to his old club Luton Town to sign keeper Thomas Kaminski and left-back Amari’i Bell.

It seems like the calm before the storm at Wrexham, who have moved for Danny Ward and Ryan Hardie so far. There has been theme to the bulk of Derby County’s business so far as John Eustace has turned to grizzled Championship veterans Danny Batth, Andi Weimann and Carlton Morris.

The Sky Blues have shelled out on right-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden from Aston Villa, while taking Spanish full-back Migual Angel Brau on a free transfer from Granada. Millwall smashed their transfer record to sign striker Josh Coburn, who had spent last season on loan at the Den from Middlesbrough.

Norwich City haven’t been hanging about either after banking £14m for Jonathan Rowe, and Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz also likely to fetch decent fees. Goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic and centre-halves Harry Darling and Jakov Medic will give the team a new base while midfielder Jacob Wright has joined from Manchester City after a loan spell.

Gary Rowett has been shopping in the Netherlands for Oxford United, hoping he has as much success with Brian de Keersmaecker as he did with Zian Flemming at Millwall..

Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday are under transfer embargoes while managerless Leicester City seem to have been struggling to get their house in order.

Championship transfers summer 2025

Birmingham City

In: Taylor Gardner-Hickman (midfielder, Bristol City, £1.5m), Phil Neumann (centre-half, Hannover 96, free), Alfons Sampsted (right-back, undisclosed), Demarai Gray (winger, Al-Ettifaq, undisclosed), Bright Osayi-Samuel (right-back, Fenerbahce, free), James Beadle (goalkeeper, Brighton, loan), Tommy Doyle (midfielder, Wolves, loan)

Out: Grant Hanley (centre-half, released), Lee Myung-Jae (left-back, Daejeon Hana Citizen, free), Lukas Jutkiewicz (striker, retired), Romelle Donovan (winger, Brentford, £3.6m), Ayumu Yokoyama (forward, Genk, undisclosed), Brandon Khela (midfielder, Peterborough, undisclosed)

Blackburn Rovers

In: Dion de Neve (winger, KV Kortrijk, £600,000), Sidnei Tavares (central midfielder, Moreirense, £1.7m)

Out: Dilan Markanday (winger, Chesterfield, free), Jack Vale (forward, released), Zak Gilsenan (midfielder, Grimsby Town, free), Tom Bloxham (winger, released), Danny Batth (centre back, Derby County, free), Andi Weimann (forward, Derby County, free)

Bristol City

In: Yu Hirakawa (forward, Machida Zelvia, undisclosed), Adam Randell (central midfielder, Plymouth Argyle, undisclosed), Joe Lumley (goalkeeper, Southampton, free), Emil Riis (forward, Preston North End, free)

Out: Taylor Gardner-Hickman (midfielder, Birmingham City, £1.5m), Seb Palmer-Houlden (forward, Gillingham, undisclosed), Stefan Bajic (goalkeeper, released), Ayman Benarous (midfielder, released), Kal Naismith (utility, Luton Town, free), Nahki Wells (striker, released),