According to the London Evening Standard, Brentford have completed the signing of Danish midfielder Christian Norgaard from Serie A outfit Fiorentina for a fee of £2.8 million.
Norgaard, who arrives at Griffin Park as Brentford’s first major signing of the summer, has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the Bees, with reports claiming that manager Thomas Frank has showered praises on his former Brondby player. (h/t Evening Standard)
Frank is well aware of Norgaard’s abilities, having worked with him at Brondby earlier in his managerial career.
The former Danish U-21 international made only 6 appearances for Fiorentina in all competitions this past season, as the Italian club barely managed to beat the drop in the Serie A but the 25-year-old out-of-favour star has been offered an escape route by his former manager.
The majority of the fans at Griffin Park are unlikely to have much of an idea about the Dane’s exploits, although they should probably keep faith in their manager’s recruitment policy.
It is true that bringing in someone like Norgaard, who hasn’t had too much of top-level exposure outside his native Denmark, looks like a bit of a risky move on paper for the Bees.
However, looking back at the last few seasons, Brentford have carved out a reputation for making good signings and there is every possibility that the 25-year-old could prove to be a bargain for the Bees.
They haven’t been hesitant to bring in players from foreign leagues either, with the likes of Neal Maupay, Yoann Barbet, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Said Benrahma and Henrik Dalsgaard being amongst those to have arrived at Griffin Park in recent times.
All the aforementioned players have gone on to have a successful time in the Championship and while the fans have every reason to be sceptical about Norgaard’s arrival, the Dane might as well prove to be another shrewd piece of business by the Bees, and an absolute masterstroke of a signing from Thomas Frank.
Apart from the high-profile Henrik Dalsgaard, Brentford have some promising young Danish starlets like Luka Racic, Mads Bech Sorensen and Emiliano Marcondes in their ranks, meaning that Norgaard might find the process of acclimatisation at Griffin Park a lot easier.
Given that the Bees have already completed the signing of the 25-year-old, the midfielder is likely to be available for a full pre-season and that should help him settle down in his new surroundings.
Having secured an 11th place finish in the Championship last term, Brentford will be looking to go one step further next season and challenge for a promotion playoff spot.
While retaining the services of Maupay, Ollie Watkins and Benrahma up front should hold the key to their success, Norgaard might go on to establish himself as a familiar face in Frank’s first-team and play a key role in the club’s push for promotion.
Let us take a closer look at Brentford’s new signing- Christian Norgaard.
Norgaard started playing for the likes of BK Heimdal and Espergaerde IF before entering the youth setup of Lyngby in 2008. He made rapid progress through the ranks and broke into the first-team picture in the 2011-12 season, making his only senior appearance for the club as a substitute in a 2–2 Superliga draw with HB Køge in 2011
The midfielder earned a move to Bundesliga club Hamburger SV back in 2012 but he wasn’t able to make much of an impact at his new club, featuring largely for the reserve side in the process. Norgaard failed to make a single first-team appearance for Hamburger and left the club in 2013, having featured on 22 occasions for the reserve team.
Norgaard returned to his homeland with heavyweights Brondby back in the summer of 2013 and gradually established himself as one of the best in his position in the Danish top-flight.
The 25-year-old reached great heights at Brondby and earned the status of a cult hero at the club, helping his team to victory in the 2017-18 Danish Cup, which was his first taste of silverware as a professional footballer.
The Dane made a total of 147 appearances for the Danish outfit in all competitions, accumulating 12 goals and 8 assists in the process. He also featured prominently in the club’s unsuccessful 2014-15 and 2015-16 Europa League qualifying campaigns under Thomas Frank.
Norgaard’s brilliance in his homeland caught the eye of Serie A giants Fiorentina, who swooped for him last summer. However, he found regular minutes difficult to come by in the Italian top-flight and spent a lot of time on the bench, making only 6 appearances over the course of the previous campaign.
Once regarded as amongst the brightest emerging prospects in Denmark, Norgaard earned a total of 73 caps for his nation from U-16 to U-21 levels and was called up to the senior international squad for the UEFA Nations League games last year, although he is yet to earn his senior debut.
A part of the Danish squad at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the midfielder also represented his nation at 2015 and 2017 U-21 European Championships.
Standing at 6ft.2 inches with a towering and well-built frame, Norgaard is essentially a central defensive midfielder by trade, although he is capable of playing in a more advanced box-to-box role in the middle of the park.
A strong and tenacious midfielder noted for his technical abilities on the ball and a good range of passing, Norgaard not only excels with his ability to dictate the tempo of the game and put his team on the front foot with clever switches of play but he is also very much capable of winning possession back with crucial tackles and interceptions.
A solid and well-organised deep midfielder renowned for his sound reading of the game, calmness, composure and positioning, the 25-year-old could add a lot of depth and stability to Brentford’s midfield in the Championship next season.
Although primarily a defensive midfielder, Norgaard likes to play the ball forward.
That coupled with his presence of mind to get involved in the build-up play and propensity for making late attacking runs into the box, make him a potent goal threat as well.
The Dane is not afraid to pull the strings with either foot and often calls the goalkeeper into action with powerful driving efforts from outside the box.
Despite lacking any prior experience of playing in England, Norgaard would be expected to make a big impression at Griffin Park next term, given the finances involved in the deal and the player’s familiarity with Thomas Frank.
Considering that the Championship can sometimes be unforgiving to players arriving from other leagues in Europe, it is a bit of a gamble for the Bees, but Frank seemingly knows how to extract the best out of him.
Brentford lost the services of the versatile Nico Yennaris back in January, while former Chelsea academy product Josh McEachran has also left the club upon the expiry of his contract this summer.
The likes of Romaine Sawyers, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Lewis MacLeod played a key role in the central midfield under Frank last season, with the manager preferring a 3-4-3 system with two wing-backs and two pivots in the middle.
Youngster Josh DaSilva was used largely as an impact player off the bench but he is still very much in the developmental phase of his career and one cannot help but feel that someone like Christian Norgaard, with his physicality and calmness, could be a more reliable option for the Bees.
Brentford can also afford to look at the Dane as a like-for-like replacement for McEachran, and while it is still unclear whether he would be an upgrade on their existing options, it would be fair to say that Norgaard could add a lot of depth and quality in a key area of the pitch for Brentford.
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All in all, Norgaard has the attributes to fit seamlessly into Frank’s system at Griffin Park but only time will tell how he manages to respond to the challenge of playing in a highly competitive and physical league, such as the Championship.