A Danish giant is once again on the Premier League clubs radar, and Eden Hazard's brother is hoping to play for Chelsea next season. Here are the Thursdays transfer rumours!
Liverpool and Chelsea are battling over the signature of Benfica star Lazar Markovic (Metro) - Probability: Medium
Sevilla and Spain left-back, Alberto Moreno is a target for a number of Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool (Metro) - Probability: Medium
Bayern Munich star Toni Kroos has told his teammates that he is determined to make a move to Old Trafford (The Mirror) - Probability: High
Wigan and Crystal Palace are both hoping to land Denmark striker Simon Makienok (The Mirror) - Probability: High
The Gunners are interested in Rubin Kazan striker Sardar Azmoun (Daily Star) - Probability: Low
Everton are hoping to extend Barcelona forward Gerard Deulofeu's loan deal (The Mirror) - Probability: Medium
Manchester City defender Micah Richards, 25, has decided to leave the club this summer (The Guardian) - Probability: High
Manchester United and Arsenal are competing for France midfielder Maxime Gonalons' signature (Guardian) - Probability: Low
Chelsea midfielder Thorgan Hazard, 21, believes he will get his Premier League chance next season (Daily Star) - Probability: High
Manchester United are plotting a £6m bid for PSV Eindhoven defender Santiago Arias (The Sun) - Probability: Medium
The Januar transfer window is soon upon us, and a Danish striker has already been linked with a move to Crystal Palace. During the summer window Andreas Cornelius, Jores Okore and Nicklas Helenius joined the Premier League. Today, we take a look at five players potential for a move to the EPL.
The young winger was close to signing with Brøndby in the summer, but didn't pass the medical test. Brøndby claimed that a knee injury from earlier in his career was now causing problems. However, it was only the medical staff at Brøndby who saw it as a problem. Instead, Larsen stayed in Odense where he has been on of the profiles so far this season. Eighteen matches, six goals and three assists so far have also brought him into the Danish national team where he so far has played four matches. The winger is a man for the future in Danish football and wishes to play in a better league at some point. January might be a possibility for him to go abroad, but Odense are probably not willing to let him go at the moment.
Lasse Nielsen have been a part of the Aalborg Superliga squad since 2006 and had his debut in 2008. Despite being only 25, the central defender has a routine as a 32-year old with his 172 matches for Aalborg. So far it has only been to one match for Denmark for the defender, but he has the potential for many more especially if he can come to a bigger club. Despite Aalborg wanting to keep their club man, Nielsen have already announced he will leave the club next summer when his contract ends. Therefore, Aalborg can have some interest in selling the defender this winter, and with Nielsen hoping to play in England, the Premier League is a possibility. Some of the smaller clubs as West Brom, Hull or Crystal Palace, could be a club for the defender.
He was the 'Keep an eye on'-talent on this blog a few weeks ago. Since then he was announced as the profile of the Superliga this year by the managers in the league. Kasper Kusk probably the hottest name in Danish football at the moment, and will soon be history in the Danish Superliga. The winger is known for his dribbling skills and his ability to find the goal. However, he still lacks some in the physical play. The Danish national manager Morten Olsen has called up Kusk for duty a couple of times this season, and with a move to a bigger club, the talent might be able to take the step towards becoming the first choice.
The right-back have been one of the forces behind Esbjerg's success in the Europa League this season, and have made him a future prospect for Denmark in the future. Ankersen have said that he wants to leave Esbjerg this winter and not for another Danish club. The Premier League could be a possibility as he will fit well into the English style of football. Furthermore, his ability to score goals as a left back should make some managers want him for their side. In fact, one of Ankersens goals was nominated for the Puskas award this year.
The English media have already given Simon Makienok the predicate as the Danish Peter Crouch given his physics. The striker is known for his ability in the air while he is lacking when it comes to speed. He is a regular starter in Brøndby and is often called up for duty at the Danish national team as a support for Bendtner. The striker was linked with a move to Russian football in the summer but declined himself. Instead, Crystal Palace have been mentioned as the next stop for the striker as they are looking to bring in some Danish dynamite to the attack.
Only twenty days to the opening of the transfer window, and a Danish striker is linked with a move to the Premier League! Here are the Thursday transfer rumours!
Everton are ready to make a move for Icelandic striker Alfred Finnbogason and sell Nikica Jelavic (The Mirror) - Probability: Medium
Chelsea and Manchester are both monitoring Rennes midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko (insidefutbol.com) - Probability: Low
West Ham are poised to make a move for Inter Milan forward Diego Milito (The Mirror) - Probability: Low
Crystal Palace could make a move for Denmark's equivalent to Peter Crouch - Brondby striker Simon Makienok - if they fail to buy the real thing from Stoke (The Mirror) - Probability: Medium
At the same time, Stoke are keeping an eye on Ducth forward Luuk De Jong this January (The Mirror) - Probability: High
Monaco is ready to make a bid for Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany (Express) - Probability: Low
Hull manager Steve Bruge wants to sign Seb Larsson and is eyeing up a £5m swoop for the Sunderland midfielder (Mirror) - Probability: High
Wolfburg midfielder Diego is a Southampton target and has opened the door for a move to St Mary's (The Mirror) - Probability: Medium
Arsenal are closing in on Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann (Metro) - Probability: Low
Nicklas Bendtner's drunk driving has already lost him a lot of respect from Danish fans, but now he has also lost his status as Denmark's striker number 1.
His name is Andreas Cornelius; he's 20 years-old and total opposite of Nicklas Bendtner, keeps both feets on the ground. Last Friday he scored his first goal forDenmarkand was an important player in the 3-0 win against the Czech Republic. Denmark only managed to get a draw against Bulgaria tonight, but Cornelius performed well once again. The young talent provoked a penalty on which Agger scored.
With Bendtner away from the national team for the next five months, Cornelius has taken his chance and shown football Europe why Arsenal is keeping an eye on him. In fact, Cornelius has much the same stature as Bendtner; high, strong physic and great with the head. Furthermore, the young striker is capable of scoring with both feet. On the negative side, he is not the fastest or has the best agility.
However, there are a couple of other future prospects of the Danish national team that can take over where Cornelius is lacking. Victor Fischer has got his breakthrough inAjax this season and will develop into a key player for the Dutch and for Denmark within a couple of years. The forces of the Ajax striker are definitely his agility and pace, along with a great shot.
While Victor Fischer already is playing in a European top club, a couple of Superliga talents could be heading the same way. In Aalborg, a 21-year old striker named Nicklas Helenius is almost ready to take the next step. I'm sure that, by the end of next summer, he will be playing in either English, German or Dutch football. The striker ended last season as topscorer in the Danish Superliga and is a vital part ofAalborg's offence. However, it may be time for him to travel abroad, and Aalborg is in need of money.
InBrøndby, as well, is there a future prospect for the national team. Given his debut against the Czech Republic on Friday, Simon Makienok is the direct replacement for Cornelius. The striker is a typical target man, with a good height and physic, and is capable of holding the ball until his team mates can assist him. And like Cornelius, the striker keeps both feet on the ground and waits for his chance to shine.
Bendtner is "banned" from playing for Denmark a for a couple of months. However, there is no doubt Morten Olsen will allow him back on the team - if he finds a club to play for. At the moment, Bendtner should only be focussed on finding a new club - and not drinking and driving - as his position on the national team is under threat. In the future, we might see a Denmark team without Nicklas Bendtner; we have other options now.
Nicklas Bendtner is one of his idols, and given his physics, and strenght Simon Makienok Christoffersen has often been compared to the Juventus striker.
The tall Dane joined Herfølge (now known as HB Køge) as a junior, and quickly made his way to the senior’s team. On his nineteen year old birthday, he scored his first goal for HBK, and from that point he never looked back. Brøndby coach Auri Skarbalius was also the coach for Makienok in HB Køge. He says:
“Simon is a young player on his way to the top, and needs to keep developing. Given his physic he is a very exciting player to follow, as he is a weapon in the opponents box.”
Makienok Christoffersen had a leading role in HB Køge’s promotion to the Danish Superliga in 2011. The striker was the man behind not less than 16 goals that season, and even rejected a move to the Belgium Oud-Hverlee. Instead, he stayed in Køge, where he managed to score six goals in the Superliga, earning him a spot on the Danish national team for league players.
After two goals in three matches for the national team, the Danish manager Morten Olsen, announced that he would like to see Makienok in another club than Køge. Two days later, the striker has signed with Brøndby. The transfer should turn out to be the largest transfer ever, for his former club.
While Makienok left HB Køge after twenty four goals in sixty five matches, he has had problems finding the net for Brøndby. However, Auri Skarbalius has another view:
“If you take a look on the number [22] of matches Simon has played for Brøndby, he scores almost in every third match which is quite good.”
The coach also stressed that Makienok was the future of the club, and have a great potential.
Simon Makienok Christoffersen has represented a couple of Danish youth national teams and is currently playing for the Danish U21. Here, he scored as late as yesterday against Serbia. The striker is getting confident with playing international football, and his coach will not rule out that he might have a future in a bigger club:
“Only time will show how far he can go, but he has the physic and the mentality, but only time can show”.
A Danish giant is once again on the Premier League clubs radar, and Eden Hazard's brother is hoping to play for Chelsea next season. Here are the Thursdays transfer rumours!
