Borja Sainz is feeling the love of the Norwich City faithful and believes his relationship with Josh Sargent is blossoming.
The Spaniard has already eclipsed his goal tally for the entirety of last season and his career first hat-trick helped Norwich on their way to an impressive victory away at Derby County, who were unbeaten in their last nine games at Pride Park.
Only West Brom's Josh Maja has netted more goals in the Championship than Sainz, who has netted seven from nine games in all competitions.
Half of Sainz's Championship strikes have been teed up by Sargent, who also played a key part in his second at Pride Park after his decoy run created space for the winger to find the bottom corner with aplomb.
That flourishing relationship is good news for City's attacking output, and Sainz believes it has been constructed during training sessions.
"Sometimes I pass for Josh, and sometimes Josh passes to me. Today he passed to me and I scored the goals. In training, we have a really good relationship, and he's a very good person and player.
"I am very happy to stay here with him. I'm very happy to play with him," Sainz said after City's dramatic 3-2 victory at Pride Park. "Another one is Gunny. He made a great save. I'm very happy with the team.
"I started with goals but the important thing is that the team has played well. In the first matches, it was normal [to be inconsistent], but now the changes have shown to be good."
Since signing for City on a free transfer from Turkish side Giresunspor in 2023, Sainz has emerged as a favourite of Canaries supporters.
The winger has his own chant and was serenaded by over 2,800 supporters in the away end at Pride Park on Saturday. That warm feeling from the supporters to Sainz is definitely mutual, as he explained after the 3-2 win.
"The last year when I came, the supporters loved me and me the same," Sainz said. "I love the supporters of Norwich. I feel the support to the team everytime I play, and that is really good.
"I think this year I have taken more confidence, and I was very happy to stay here at the club of Norwich. I love the city, I love the supporters and the players in the team."
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