Werder Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt has urged people not to expect too much of United States international Josh Sargent after he scored his first Bundesliga goal on Friday.
Following seven goals in 12 games for the club’s under-23s, 18-year-old Sargent scored less than two minutes into his Bundesliga debut as Bremen beat Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-1.
“We all must be careful what we expect from him,” Kohfeldt said. “If he makes five, six Bundesliga appearances until the summer, it is a good a year for him.”
While Sargent will not be included in every first-team squad this season, Bremen have longer-term plans for him with Claudio Pizarro having turned 40.
Kohfeldt told reporters on Monday it was “a realistic goal” for Sargent to take Pizarro’s place in the squad.
“We want to develop our own top forwards. We wouldn’t have to buy them then,” he said. “If, next summer, Josh is the one, we’ve done a lot of things right.
“Josh does not care whether he plays at the Weserstadion or Platz 11 [the U23 pitch], and he would not care about 80,000 in Dortmund.
“He can block that out, a quality Pizarro also has. That can make the difference between a good and an outstanding player.”