Gabriel Sara has proven that Norwich City's recruitment efforts in South America can yield success. 

His arrival from Sao Paulo marked a moment of history for the club that was four years in the making. 

Sara's signing was City's first step into the unknown of recruiting directly from South America for the first time. Beforehand, they had added two scouts to work in the region, tied up with a Brazilian club and put plenty of resource into making it viable. 

Work continued at home in appointing interpreter Alan Rosling to ease the settling-in period for new recruits. 

Norwich committed £6million for Sara with clauses and add-ons that could take the deal to a club-record sum. That hinges on promotion to the Premier League, among other factors. 

The Brazilian arrived having recently undergone ankle surgery - that limited his involvement in pre-season before he eventually made his Norwich debut off the bench in the final moments of their 1-1 draw against Wigan in August. 

Dean Smith was cautious with building up the 23-year-old's fitness, starting him for the first time in September's draw against West Brom. 

Sara took a while to find his rhythm and admitted in a recent interview that the early weeks in Norfolk proved difficult for him to adapt to life in Norfolk. 

For all the work that went into helping the adaptation process, Sara still found it hard - as anyone moving halfway round the world would in any profession. 

The mitigation was clear. Sara was fighting for fitness amid processing his new surroundings - it is little wonder as to why consistency was lacking within his performances in those early weeks of the season. 

City's away win at Rotherham in November felt like a significant moment for Sara at Norwich. 

The Pink Un: A match away at Rotherham United felt like a significant moment for Gabriel Sara at Norwich City.A match away at Rotherham United felt like a significant moment for Gabriel Sara at Norwich City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

His drive down the right to tee up a cross that led to Kenny McLean's opening goal was the first proper sighting of his athleticism and ability to drive forward as well as his technical proficiency in the final third. 

But his overall performance graphically illustrated that Sara could make strides in England. As the season continued, amid turbulence and a managerial change, Sara's progress followed an upwards trajectory. 

His best performances of the campaign coincided with David Wagner's early weeks in the job. Sara was practically unplayable in games against Coventry, Millwall and Cardiff - when he was on song, Norwich were as well. 

Accompanied by Kenny McLean in a deeper role, Sara was beginning to show real progress in yellow and green. He was also adding goals to his game - the best coming away to Blackburn and a sumptuous turn and finish at Millwall. 

He has made Norwich beat to his Samba rhythm at times - if Wagner can unlock that regularly, it is a mouthwatering prospect next season. 

But they face an almighty fight to keep him at the club this summer. 

Sara is content to remain at Norwich next season and won't be pushing for a move away from Carrow Road this summer. 

Ultimately, it may be taken out of his hands if an appropriate offer is received from the Premier League or overseas. Webber revealed that they were facing a battle to keep the Brazilian this summer. 

The Pink Un: Gabriel Sara's performances uplifted under David Wagner. Gabriel Sara's performances uplifted under David Wagner. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Given he is one of City's major assets, it will be other clubs who decide the fate of the midfielder rather than Norwich, who have a desire to reinvest into their own squad to implement the changes they want to make. 

West Ham United have been heavily linked, with the Hammers' head of recruitment and ex-City player Rob Newman attending countless matches at Carrow Road this season. Atletico Madrid have also been credited with an interest as well as clubs from Italy. 

At present, despite the flashes of real quality that have been noticed, Sara remains a significant gamble. Whether clubs view him to be too much of a risk to stump up the money that would be required for Norwich to allow him to leave is another question altogether. 

The other dimension is whether City would be open to negotiation. That may hinge on whether any of their other assets depart - if that happens, Norwich are likely to adopt a firm stance, especially given Sara is unlikely to push for a move away. 

Currently, there is optimism that Sara will be a Norwich player next season. Wagner views him as integral and, after progress in recent months, it would be a blow to lose him after his progression towards the end of the campaign. 

The Pink Un: Norwich face a fight to keep Gabriel Sara at the club this summer. Norwich face a fight to keep Gabriel Sara at the club this summer. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Norwich will get Sara for a full pre-season, which should allow him to move quickly out of the blocks next season. 

In a season of few positive moments, Sara has offered reason for hope and positivity. Another campaign has the potential to be very exciting if Norwich can unlock his qualities on a consistent basis.