Flown From the Nest - Gabriel Sara (original) (raw)

23 year old Brazilian attacking midfielder Gabriel Sara joined Norwich City on 15th July 2022 for a fee reported to be £6million plus add-ons.

Sara came through the youth team at Sao Paulo, making his debut on 3rd December 2017 in a 1-1 draw with Bahia in the Brazilian Championship. He made 114 appearances for Sao Paulo, scoring 17 goals, before joining Norwich. This included appearances in Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

Norwich boss Dean Smith said "He has an abundance of skills. He can create and score goals, but also cover a tremendous amount of distance on a football pitch. He wants to get on the ball and look forward, he makes really unselfish runs and is full of energy,"

Sara made his Norwich debut as a 90th minute substitute in the 1-1 home draw with Wigan on 6th August 2022. He then made his full debut against Birmingham in the Carabao Cup on 9th August 2022. Sara scored his first goal for Norwich on 8th October 2022 in the 3-2 home defeat to Preston in the Championship.

On 17th December 2022 it was reported that Italian side Torino had sent scouts to watch Sara. His form, which had included six goals and four assists in 31 appearances at the time of the article, saw the Sunday Mirror claim on 12th March 2023 that West Ham, Athletico Madrid and RB Leipzig were all interested in signing him.

Sara won the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy (Player of the Year) at the end of his first season at Norwich. He played 43 games for Norwich scoring seven goals.

On 8th September 2023 Sara was named as the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for August 2023 as Norwich won three of their four games, drawing the fourth at Southampton 4-4. Sara had scored one and provided two assists and topped the league's chart for key passes and big chances created.

On 7th January 2024 the Transfer Centre twitter feed claimed that Sara was Leicester's main target for the January 2024 transfer window with the Foxes willing to pay £20million.

Sara was named in the Championship Team of the Year on 14th April 2024. having scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists at the time of the awards. He finished the season with 53 appearances and 14 goals.

On 22nd May 2024 multiple Italian sources including the newspaper Leggo reported that incoming Roma sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, along with manager Daniele De Rossi, has identified Sara as a potential target. De Rossi has publicly bemoaned the shortage of box-to-box midfielders within his squad during the latter stages of the Serie A campaign, and Ghisolfi believes Sara could be somebody who can fill that void. The report adds that Sara's versatility across midfield has given him the edge over other targets on Roma's list, and conversations with his entourage are set to take place soon. Two days later Crystal Palace were added to the list of Sara's suitors according to Brazilian outlet UOL

The summer saw plenty of speculation linking Sara with Turkish champions Galatasaray who finally signed him on 4th August 2024 on a five year contract. With guaranteed bonuses, the fee paid to Norwich was said to be in excess of £20million.