Danish Superliga 2020/21 Season Preview
The new Danish Superliga season will kick-off on Friday 11th September, with Champions FC Midtjylland taking on Danish Cup winners SønderjyskE in the curtain-raiser.
Below I will (briefly) frame the season ahead and give a club-by-club preview, looking at the transfers, key players, and overall prospects of each club. I will also be providing a match report for most teams, which I have written for Target Scouting, looking at a game from last season and focusing on under-23 players to look out for in the coming campaign.
Last season
In a nutshell, FC Midtjylland won the league at a canter whilst Silkeborg IF, Esbjerg fB, and Hobro IK were relegated (Hobro after losing a relegation play-off against Lyngby BK). Vejle Boldklub finished top of the 1st Division (the second tier of Danish football) to win promotion to the Superliga, returning at the first time of asking having been relegated in the 2018/19 season.
SønderjyskE beat Aalborg BK to win the Danish Cup and the chance to compete in this year’s Europa League, starting in the qualifiers alongside third-placed AGF and second-placed FC Copenhagen. FC Midtjylland will be Denmark’s representative in the Champions League but will need to get through three rounds of qualifying in order to reach the group stages.
This season
The previous league structure was, shall we say, difficult to get your head around. The 20/21 season will see a change to a slightly simpler structure, with 12 teams competing down from 14 in the last campaign.
Each team will play each other twice (home and away) in the 22-game regular season, after which the top-six will advance into the Championship Group and the bottom-six will advance into the Qualification Group. Each team carries their points from the regular season over with them and will then play the other teams in their group twice (again home and away) in 10 rounds of fixtures.
Right, then following that?
Well, firstly, the winner of the Championship Group wins the Superliga title — simple. The Qualification Group is less straightforward; the winner will play the fourth or fifth-placed team from the Championship Group (depending on the winner of the Danish Cup) in a knock-out match for a place in the Europa League, whilst the bottom two will be relegated to the 1st Division and replaced by the top two teams from that league. Easy!
This season will also see the introduction of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) to Denmark as the first Scandinavian league to adopt the system.
Clubs
Aalborg BK
Manager: Jacob Friis
Ins: Vladimir Privojic — Red Star Belgrade (£189k), Timothé Nkada — Stade Reims (loan), Tim Prica — Malmö FF (undisc.), Pedro Ferreira — Varzim SC (undisc.), Daniel Granli — AIK (loan)
Outs: Oliver Abildgaard — Ruben Kazan (£1.8m), Patrick Olsen — Aarhus GF (£900k), Filip Lesniak — Wisla Plock (free), Søren Tengstedt — Aarhus GF (free), Anders Bærtelsen — Vendsyssel FF (undisc.), Jakob Blaabjerg — Retired, Aramis Kouzine — Released, Jakob Blåbjerg — Retired, Marcus Bundgaard Sørensen — Jammerbugt FC (free), Patrick Kristensen — Retired, Rasmus Theluffsen — Lyngby BK (undisc.), Wessam Abou Ali — Silkeborg IF (£135k)
It has been a busy summer for AaB, who will be heading into the new season with a fair amount of squad turnover from the previous campaign after a number of departures. The most notable of which is Patrick Olsen, one of AaB's best players last season whose performances in central midfield earned him a move to 3rd-placed AGF.
The club appointed Inge André Olsen as Sporting Director in April after nine years in the same role at Stabæk, and we have started to see his influence already with some ambitious moves in the transfer market. The signing of 18-year-old striker Tim Prica, son of former AaB striker Rade Prica, has proved a popular one and his performances in pre-season have suggested that they might have a future star on their books.
Despite the changes, their squad is still a fairly strong one. In Lucas Andersen, they have one of the best attacking players in the league, and a promising young core of homegrown players such as Mathias Ross, Magnus Christensen, and the Klitten brothers have all emerged in the first-team over the last few seasons.
Last season saw AaB squeeze into the Championship Group by three points before going on to finish in 5th place, two points behind Brøndby in 4th. They also enjoyed success in the Danish Cup, beating both FC Copenhagen and AGF in the quarter and semi-finals respectively but falling at the last hurdle, losing 2–0 to SønderjyskE in the final.
Reaching the Championship Group will be the main objective again for AaB this season but, after almost missing out last season and with lots of competition for the top-6 places, I think they may be the team to drop out.
Last Season: 5th
Prediction: 7th
Key Player: Lucas Andersen, 25, Danish
Young player to watch: Tim Prica, 18, Swedish
Click here for the AaB match report — Written by Joe Morgan
AC Horsens
Manager: Jonas Dal
Ins: Jacob Buus — FC Fredericia (free), Thor Lange — Fremad Amager (free), James Gomez — Real de Banjul (loan), Andreas Skjøtt Foged — Vejle BK (free), Casper Tengstedt — FC Midtjylland (loan), Lirim Qamili — Hvidovre IF (undisc.)
Outs: Jeppe Kjaer — Ajax (£1.8m), Matthias Praest — Middelfart BK (free), Oliver Drost — Kolding IF (free), Mikkel Qvist — KA Akureyri (loan)
With Bo Henriksen leaving by mutual consent a season earlier than planned, new manager Jonas Dal has the difficult task of following an incredibly popular manager and trying to implement his own style on a club with one of the smaller budgets in the league.
Henriksen is a larger-than-life character who managed to get his team playing far greater than the sum of its parts and found success through an attritional style of football that would unsettle their opponents and make them incredibly difficult to play against.
Horsens were the best-of-the-rest last season, finishing the season with the most points outside the top-six. This earned them a place in the Europa League playoff semi-final against OB, with the winner over two legs advancing to the final to face AGF for a place in next season’s competition. Horsens lost that match 4–2 on aggregate, but that does not take away from a successful season in which they far outperformed expectations.
Under Henriksen, their strength was not in their ability to score goals but in their ability to manage games well and utilise the strong sense of unity and stability at the club in their on-pitch performances. Dal should bring in a more possession-based system but it is yet to be seen whether the small squad of players at his disposal is suited to that style of play and it looks set to be a season of transition.
The sale of Jeppe Kjaer to Ajax will be a welcome cash injection to the club but they will miss the creativity he added towards the end of the season. The addition of Casper Tengstedt on loan could add some firepower and Louka Prip showed an ability to both score goals and create chances last season but they will also need to get the best out of Nicolai Brock-Madsen if they are to build on last campaign.
A lot of their success this season depends on the scale of the post-Bo hangover. If Dal can get off to a strong start then they could be in for another campaign that sees them finish comfortably in the Qualification Group but I think it will be difficult for a team that consistently over-achieved under Henriksen and I would not be surprised to see them struggle in a relegation battle this season.
Last season: 7th (1st in Relegation Group 2)
Prediction: 11th (Relegated)
Key player: Louka Prip, 23, Danish
Young player to watch: Casper Tengstedt, 20, Danish
AGF
Manager: David Nielsen
Ins: Patrick Olsen — Aalborg BK (£900k), Søren Tengstedt — Aalborg BK (free), Milan Jevtovic — Red Star Belgrade (free), Kevin Diks — Fiorentina (loan)
Outs: Mustapha Bundu — RSC Anderlecht (£2.7m), Daniel Thøgersen — Kolding IF (free), Jakob Ankersen — Esbjerg fB (free), Casper Lunding — Odds BK (loan)
It was a great season for AGF, who finished in the top three for the first time since the 1996/97 season. They also qualified for the Europa League, starting in the first qualifying round, for the first time since the 2012/13 season after beating OB in the European Play-Off.
David Nielsen has his side playing an exciting brand of fast counter-attacking football and has assembled a squad with quality throughout. Sebastian Hausner emerged as a very promising young centre-back with an impressive end to the season, Casper Højer and Jón Dagur Thorsteinsson form a very strong combination down the left side, and in Patrick Mortensen they have a clinical striker in the box.
However, the loss of Mustapha Bundu, the Sierra Leonean winger who bagged 8 goals and 10 assists in an impressive campaign, to Anderlecht will surely be felt and will be difficult to replace.
The addition of Patrick Olsen is a sensible one, as AGF struggled when playing against teams who sat back and didn’t allow them to play on the counter. His passing ability should help them to become more of a versatile attacking outfit and allow them to unlock defences through patient build-up play against the more defensive teams.
A Europa League campaign would be great for the club but could see their squad stretched to its limits and it will be interesting to see what effect that might have on a domestic campaign where another top-3 finish will be well within their reach.
Last season: 3rd
Prediction: 3rd
Key player: Casper Højer, 25, Danish
Young player to watch: Sebastian Hausner, 20, Danish
Click here for the AGF match report
Brøndby IF
Manager: Niels Frederiksen
Ins:
Outs: Simon Tibbling — FC Emmen (£720k), Kasper Fisker — Fremad Amager (free), Ante Erceg — NK Osijek (loan)
Without context, it might be strange to see a club the size of Brøndby celebrate a second straight 4th-placed finish that sees them miss out on European football as a successful season.
However, in a much-needed period of rebuilding, they have brought through a number of talented academy graduates who are starting to establish themselves as key members of the first-team. Morten Frendrup has been getting deserved praise for his performances at the base of the midfield but Jesper Lindstrøm, Anis Slimane, and Andreas Bruus have also all impressed at points throughout last season.
Niels Frederiksen’s switch to a 3–5–2 system after an inconsistent start to the season has brought defensive solidity to the team, who conceded just 5 goals in 10 games after the split into the Championship Group. They might, however, find it difficult to score goals, with the two highest scorers from last season no longer at the club.
They struggled to replace the hole left by club captain and all-time leading goalscorer Kamil Wilczek (who we will see again later on) after he left for Göztepe in January and with no dealings in the transfer window so far there is some concern that this squad lacks firepower.
As it stands, Mikael Uhre and Simon Hedlund will be tasked with the goal-scoring responsibilities, but the versatility of Jesper Lindstrøm will be important and Rezan Corlu returning from a successful loan spell at Lyngby could play a key role in providing some creativity from midfield.
Brøndby have qualified for the Championship Group in each of the last seven seasons and, whilst I don't see them being the most exciting attacking outfit, I think we will see the importance of a strong defence and a structured approach en route to another top-6 finish.
Last season: 4th
Prediction: 4th
Key player: Morten Frendrup, 19, Danish
Young player to watch: Anis Slimane, 19, Danish/Tunisian
Click here for the Brøndby match report
FC Copenhagen
Manager: Ståle Solbakken
Ins: Kamil Wilczek — Göztepe SK (£810k), Marios Ikonomou — AEK Athens (£900k)
Outs: Uros Matic — Qarabag Agdam (undisc.), Sotirios Papagiannopoulous — AIK (undisc.), Dame N’Doye — Released, Michael Lüftner — Omonia Nicosia (loan)
For FC Copenhagen, winning the league title is almost the minimum requirement for a successful season, so they will no doubt have been told that nothing less than top spot is acceptable for the coming campaign.
The runaway nature of FC Midtjylland’s title win allowed FC Copenhagen to turn their attention to the Europa League and embark on a run that saw them advance to a quarter-final tie against Manchester United. Only an extra-time Bruno Fernandes penalty brought their journey to an end, with impressive wins against Celtic and İstanbul Başakşehir along the way.
In the league, Victor Nelsson was incredibly impressive with his performances at the centre of defense but as a team they were uncharacteristically porous and suffered from a lack of a natural goalscorer, partly down to injury problems and partly down to losses of form. As a result, nobody scored more than 9 goals in the league last season and the area that needed strengthening in the summer transfer window became clear.
So, FC Copenhagen flexed their muscles in the transfer market and promptly signed Kamil Wilczek, the all-time top goalscorer and club legend of their archrivals Brøndby who had left the club just 6 months earlier to play in the Turkish Süper Lig.
Unsurprisingly, the move proved a controversial one. Wilczek was branded a traitor by Brøndby fans, who burned shirts with his name on the back, and the Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration branded him ‘Kamil Paycheck’ on Twitter.
However, in and amongst all of that, FC Copenhagen had got exactly what they were looking for — a proven Superliga goalscorer (17 goals in 18 games in the first half of last season) who they hope will fire them back to the summit of Danish football.
He will be supported by a wealth of young attacking talent such as Mohamed Daramy, Mikkel Kaufmann, and Jonas Wind and, with the quality of Rasmus Falk pulling the strings in the midfield, they are set to be a real attacking force next season.
FC Copenhagen will be heading into the new season with confidence and will no doubt provide a real test to FC Midtjylland’s hopes of retaining the title. I expect the title race to be a lot tighter this season, but I feel that FC Midtjylland will have too much quality if it goes down to the wire and Copenhagen will be facing another season as runners-up.
Last season: 2nd
Prediction: 2nd
Key player: Rasmus Falk, 28, Danish
Young player to watch: Mohamed Daramy, 18, Danish
Click here for the Copenhagen match report
FC Midtjylland
Manager: Brian Priske
Ins: Pione Sisto — Celta Vigo (£2.25m)
Outs: Artem Dovbyk — SK Dnipro (£405k), Tim Sparv — AE Larisa (free), Søren Reese — Zaglebie Lubin (loan), Mayron George — Kalmar FF (loan), Marc Dal Hende — SønderjyskE (undisc.), Nikolaj Kirk — Aarhus Fremad (undisc.), Casper Tengstedt — AC Horsens (loan), Christian Tue Jensen — FC Fredericia (loan), Sebastian Buch — Skive IK (loan), Elias Rafn Ólafsson — FC Fredericia (loan), Tobias Anker — FC Fredericia (loan), Raphael Onyedika Nwadike — FC Fredericia (loan), Zsolt Korcsmár — Os Turn (free), Henry Ozochokwu — FC Fredericia (loan)
FC Midtjylland won the league convincingly last season, 14 points clear of FC Copenhagen in 2nd having scored the most goals and conceded the least. They had quality throughout the team rather than individual stars, with strength in depth and a good balance of youth and experience.
Captain Erik Sviatchenko won the Superliga Player of the Year award for his performances marshalling a defence which kept 16 clean sheets. Frank Onyeka and Evander formed part of a dynamic and well-balanced midfield and Awer Mabil and Anders Dreyer provided quality from the wings. The goalscoring was a collective effort, with 61 goals spread between 16 different goalscorers, none of which found the net more than 8 times.
The big question going into the summer was whether they would be able to keep this squad together and hold on to their young stars, with the club rejecting a bid from Belgian Champions Club Brugge for Club Player of the Year Frank Onyeka at the start of August. Not only do they look to have held on to their prized assets, but they have also improved their squad with one of the Superliga signings of the summer so far.
Pione Sisto, who left the club 4 years ago for Spanish side Celta Vigo, returned home after a lengthy transfer saga that almost saw the Danish international sign for direct rivals FC Copenhagen only to make a U-turn at the last minute. The end result is FC Midtjylland signing a player who loves and understands the club and has the potential to be amongst the best players in the league next season.
Looking ahead to next season continuity will be the key to their hopes of retaining the title; can they pick up where they left off and perform at the same level?
They may suffer for their lack of a natural goalscorer, especially with FC Copenhagen’s acquisition of Kamil Wilczek, and will continue to rely on players contributing to the scoring department from all over the pitch. However, with Brian Priske’s structured approach they will feel confident in their ability to keep goals out and will be supported by the attacking quality added by the re-signing of Sisto in the final third.
FC Midtjylland are many people’s favourites to retain the Superliga title and, I think, rightly so. There was a gulf in class last season that I don't expect to see this campaign but I still believe they are the strongest team and I expect the trophy to be staying at the MCH Arena.
Last season: 1st (Champions)
Prediction: 1st (Champions)
Key player: Frank Onyeka, 22, Nigerian
Young player to watch: Gustav Isaksen, 19, Danish
Click here for the Midtjylland match report
FC Nordsjælland
Manager: Flemming Pedersen
Ins: Martin Vantruba — Slavia Prague (loan), Daniel Svensson — IF Brommapojkarna (undisc.), Andreas Schjelderup — FK Bodø/Glimt (free)
Outs: Mohamed Kudus — AFC Ajax (£8.1m), Mikkel Damsgaard — UC Sampdoria (£5.85m), Nicolai Larsen — EA Guingamp (free), Abdul Mumin — Vitoría SC (free), Rasmus From — Released, Gideon Mensah — Varbergs BoIS (loan), Lucas Bøje-Larsen — Hillerød Fodbold (loan)
For FCN, the big question going into the start of the new season is something of a recurring theme – how well can they cope with the departure of their best players? The answer to this question is usually quite well.
The seamless transition of academy players into the first-team and their ability to immediately perform at that level is one of the most impressive parts of the club's set-up. They have essentially made five additions to the first-team over the summer, four of which are players that have been promoted from the U19 squad as well as goalkeeper Martin Vantruba on loan from Slavia Prague.
Players such as Tochi Chukwuani also look ready to step into a more regular first-team role, after becoming the youngest Superliga player in the club's history last season when he made his debut in September aged just 16. Kamal Deen Sulemana, 18, is another one to watch this season, after joining the first-team during the winter break last season and rapidly becoming one of the most exciting players in the league.
Mohamed Kudus and Mikkel Damsgaard were undoubtedly their two most important players last season and they will certainly be difficult to replace, but the long-term nature of the project in Farum means that there are already a number of players ready to step-up in their absence.
The club had already begun that process last season, phasing out the departing players, including club captain Nicolai Larsen, towards the end of the campaign to allow those making the step-up to get some more regular game-time and Superliga experience in preparation for the new season.
In many ways, last season was a success, with the club achieving its target of reaching the Championship Group and finishing in 6th place, as well as generating a large amount of money through player sales.
There is a clear culture that permeates throughout the club and that also applies to the style of play being implemented by Flemming Pedersen, in which the focus is primarily on performance with results as a natural consequence. They are a team that likes build from the back, utilise the wide spaces, and attack with speed and you can expect this to remain consistent throughout the season.
Next season, the area for improvement is clear. FC Nordsjælland have established themselves as a Championship Group team with a top-6 finish in their last 4 seasons, but to take the team to the next level and achieve a top-4 or top-3 finish they need to start beating the teams around them. They only managed one win in the Championship Group and ended the season with 6 points from 10 games.
The target will, again, be a top-6 finish and the successful integration of the players promoted from their academy, both of which will likely be achieved. However, they must also improve their Championship Group record and compete more against the top teams in order to build on last season.
Last season: 6th
Prediction: 5th
Key player: Kamal Deen Sulemana, 18, Ghanaian
Young player to watch: Tochi Chukwuani, 17, Danish
Click here for the Nordsjælland match report
Lyngby BK
Manager: Christian Nielsen
Ins: Christian ‘Greko’ Jakobsen — SønderjyskE (undisc.), Rasmus Thellufsen — Aalborg BK (undisc.), Brian Hamalainen — Dynamo Dresden (free)
Outs: Jesper Christjansen — NSÍ Runavík (free), Lasse Nielsen — Næstved BK (free), Martin Ørnskov — Retired
Lyngby survived by the narrowest of margins in their Relegation Playoff against Hobro, winning 4–3 on aggregate after a bad-tempered second-leg which saw a stoppage-time brawl and red cards for both teams.
Last season was very much a tale of two halves for Lyngby, who finished 10th in the Regular Season, just 6 points off of the Championship Group, but desperately struggled after the league split and failed to win any of their six Relegation Group games. It was to ultimately end in jubilation, though, beating relegation in their first season back in the top flight after winning promotion through the Play-Offs in the 2018/19 season.
They are heading into the new season having lost two mainstays of the team over the summer, with club captain Martin Ørnskov retiring and Jesper Christjansen moving to the Faroe Islands. They will also be without last season’s best player Rezan Corlu, who has returned to parent club Brøndby after a successful loan spell last season.
Corlu’s 10 goals and 9 assists last season led both charts for Lyngby and he played a key role in the Relegation Playoffs, with 2 goals and 1 assist over the two legs. Frederik Gytkjær is the talisman of the club and will be expected to bear the brunt of the goalscoring responsibility alongside new signing Christian ‘Greko’ Jakobsen, but others will need to contribute and the creativity of Corlu will be difficult to replace.
There are a number of talented young players in the squad who we could see featuring in the first-team next season. Fredrik Winther has already established himself as an important member of the starting XI, but Filip Panjeskovic and Magnus Warming are amongst those who will be hoping for more regular game time ahead of the new season.
It looks like another difficult season ahead for Lyngby where avoiding relegation will be the main objective. With question marks over where the goals will come from and a defence that has struggled to keep goals out, staying up could prove too tough a task.
Last season: 11th (3rd in Relegation Group 1)
Prediction: 12th (Relegated)
Key player: Frederik Gytkjær, 27, Danish
Young player to watch: Filip Panjeskovic, 17, Danish
Click here for the Lyngby match report
Odense BK
Manager: Jakob Michelsen
Ins: Emmanuel Sabbi — Hobro IK (free)
Outs: Jakob Barrett Laursen — Arminia Bielefeld (free), Anders Klynge — Silkeborg IF (free), Jonathan Harboe — Released, Kingsley Madu — Released, Jonas Skytte — Middelfart BK (free), Teitur Magnusson — Middelfart BK (loan)
OB are one of the most stable sides in the Superliga, having played every season in the top division since 1999. In Jakob Michelsen, they have an exciting young coach who is committed to playing attractive football and has assembled a squad full of speed and technical ability.
Having qualified for the Championship Group in the 2018/19 season, OB would have been disappointed not to make it last time around. However, they still came within a game of qualifying for Europe, beating both Randers and Horsens en route to a Europa League Play-Off match versus AGF which they narrowly lost 2–1.
The form of Sander Svendsen was a real positive, with the Norwegian scoring 13 goals (the 4th most in the league) in his debut season at the club following a summer switch from Hammarby. Alongside him, the emergence of talented young players Oliver Christensen, Mads Frøkjær, and Max Fenger from the OB production line has given their supporters the sense that they may be experiencing something of a golden generation.
Frøjkær in particular should be in for a big season after impressing towards the end of the last campaign with his technical skill and his ability to progress the ball from deep. There will no doubt be suitors emerging for their top talents in the near future but, with their youth side winning the Danish U19 League title last season, they will be confident in their ability to successfully replace these players by promoting from within.
The addition of exciting American winger Emmanuel Sabbi on a free transfer from relegated Hobro, who he was the top scorer for last season, looks like an excellent bit of business that says a lot about the club’s ambitions. All the ingredients are there for a strong season and I would expect to see them challenging for, and finishing in, the Championship Group.
Last season: 9th (1st in Relegation Group 1)
Prediction: 6th
Key player: Sander Svendsen, 23, Norwegian
Young player to watch: Max Fenger, 19, Danish
Click here for the OB match report
Randers FC
Manager: Thomas Thomasberg
Ins: Tosin Kehinde — CD Feirense (undisc.)
Outs: Tobias Damsgaard — Vendsyssel FF (free), Kasper Høgh — Valur Reykjavík (loan), Jonny Thomsen — Released, Benjamin Stokke — Vålerenga (free)
Randers enjoyed a comfortable season last campaign, missing out on the Championship Group by just 3 points which meant heading into the Relegation Group 13 points clear of danger. They went on to finish the season in 9th place, 2nd in their group, which meant advancing into a Europa League Play-Off match versus OB which they lost 3–2 over two legs.
The squad will be largely unchanged heading into the new season, with minimal incomings and outgoings in the transfer market. Tosin Kehinde has joined on a permanent deal after the Nigerian, who spent seven years in Manchester United’s academy, impressed on loan from Feirense last season. The most significant departure was veteran right-back Johnny Thomsen, who was released after 8 years and over 250 games at the club.
In Emil Riis, they have one of the best young strikers in Denmark and his performances up front will be important to their chances of success this season. There is, however, a lot of attacking talent in the team to support him, with Marvin Egho, Alhaji Kamara, and Vito Mannershøj-Mistrati all capable of providing goals. In defence, Simon Graves is set for a break-out year after his performances towards the end of last season earned him a place in the starting XI.
It will also be interesting to track the development of Filip Bundgaard Kristensen, who made his first-team debut in July aged just 16 to become the youngest player in Randers history and the second-youngest in Superliga history. He will most likely start the season with the U19’s but he has been part of the first-team for pre-season matches, alongside his 19-year-old brother Oliver, and we may well see him make some appearances off the bench next season.
Thomas Thomasberg will be hopeful that maintaining team cohesion will help Randers towards another season comfortably clear of danger. Similarly to last season, I would expect to see a functional and well-organised 4–4–2 approach, as well as a good combination of youth and experience, that should see them avoid a relegation battle.
Last season: 8th (2nd in Relegation Group 2)
Prediction: 9th
Key player: Tosin Kehinde, 22, Nigerian
Young player to watch: Filip Bundgaard Kristensen, 16, Danish
SønderjyskE
Manager: Glen Riddersholm
Ins: Haji Wright — VVV Venlo (free), Nicolai Flø — Vendsyssel FF (free), Roni Arabaci — Brøndby IF (free), Lawrence Thomas — Melbourne Victory (free), Marc Del Hende — SønderjyskE (undisc.), Emil Frederiksen — SC Heerenveen (undisc.)
Outs: Justin Plautz — SF Lotte (free), Sebastian Mielitz — Viktoria Köln (free), Eggert Gunnthór Jónsson — FH Hafnarfjarðar (free), Nicholas Marfelt — HB Køge (free), Christian ‘Greko’ Jakobsen — Lyngby BK (undisc.), João Pereira — Released, Morten Dyrmose — Released
It was a season of mixed emotions for SønderjyskE, who beat AaB in the final of the Danish Cup to win the first major trophy in the club’s history, but struggled in the league and finished just 4 points off of the Relegation Play-off places. Ultimately, though, last season will be remembered as a success that has been rewarded with a place in this year's Europa League qualifying round.
There were some standout performers in that campaign, notably Alexander Bah who won the Fan’s Player of the Year for the second year in a row. The January acquisition of Julius Eskesen from OB looks to be a very good signing and Stefan Gartenmann showed great versatility with strong performances in multiple positions across the defence.
They have been busy in the transfer market, strengthening in some key areas and moving on some of their older players in order to freshen up what was a slightly aging squad. Emil Frederiksen’s loan from Heerenveen was made permanent and hopes will be high for a player who showed the potential to be not just a key man for SønderjyskE but one of the best young players in the league.
Australian goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas has been brought in to replace Sebastian Mielitz after his move to Viktoria Köln and Marc Dal Hende has returned after leaving SønderjyskE for FC Midtjylland three seasons earlier. However, last season’s top scorer Christian ‘Greko’ Jacobsen's departure to Lyngby and striker Anders K. Jacobsen’s struggles to find consistency in front of goal may be a concern to Glen Riddersholm.
Riddersholm switched to a 3–5–2 formation towards the end of last season, with the wing-backs pushing high up the pitch and Victor Mpindi covering in an important defensive midfield role, which yielded better results and is likely to be the primary system that they use this season. He will be able to call on a stronger squad than last campaigns and their Cup win will give them confidence that they can compete against the top teams.
They need to ride that wave and take advantage of that momentum to get off to a strong start in the league and give themselves the best possible chance of pushing for a top-6 finish. The primary aim, though, will be improving on last season’s performance in the league and ensuring they steer well clear of danger, two targets which I think will be achieved.
Last season: 10th (2nd in Relegation Group 1)
Prediction: 8th
Key player: Alexander Bah, 22, Danish
Young player to watch: Emil Frederiksen, 20, Danish
Click here for the SønderjyskE match report
Vejle Boldklub
Manager: Constantin Gâlcâ
Ins: Joel Mattson — Helsinki IFK (free), Saeid Ezatolahi — FK Rostov (free), Raphael Dwamena — Levante UD (free), Alexander Milošević — Unattached (free), Alexander Brunst — FC Magdeburg (free)
Outs: Thais Damgaard — Released, Lucas From — Aarhus Fremad (free), Foday Manneh — Helsinki IFK (loan), Adam Jakobsen — Kolding IF (loan), Mads Lauritsen — Viborg FF (loan), Jonas Andersen — Released, Gianluca Zanette — Released, Kerim Memija — Aarhus Fremad (loan), Andreas Skjøtt Froged — AC Horsens (free), Tobias Sommer — IF Grotta (loan)
VB bounced back at the first time of asking having been relegated in the 2018/19 season, winning the 1st Division by a healthy 9-point margin. The club will be looking for some stability, having only spent one season in the top flight following their last promotion.
It is always a difficult task for a newly promoted team to stay up, but VB have the added challenge of being the only promoted team this season as part of the restructuring of the league. The result of this is that, theoretically, the average quality of the opponent will be higher this season than in previous years where two teams were promoted and two were relegated.
VB have an exciting young squad, with players such as Arbnor Mucolli, Thomas Gundeland, and Wahid Faghir all ready to test themselves at a higher level. In Diego Montiel they have a player of real quality who was instrumental in their promotion and they will look to him as the focal point of the team.
Ajax academy product Indy Groothuizen will be very important to the team’s chances of survival, especially in games where they are forced to defend for large periods, and the Dutchman has already shown an ability to win points for VB with his performances in goal. The addition of Ghanaian centre-forward Raphael Dwamena, who came close to joining Brighton in 2017 before the move fell through due to a failed medical, has the potential to be an excellent signing and the player has scored prolifically at similar levels in the past.
The squad is full of technically gifted players but an area in which they lack is players with Superliga experience, which could prove to be a problem as the season develops. Their captain, Jacob Schoop, has over 80 Superliga appearances to his name and his presence on the pitch and in the dressing room will be invaluable but, beyond that, there are only a few players that have played at the top level of Danish football before.
VB are historically one of the most successful clubs in Denmark and they belong in the top division. They are coming into this season with a talented squad but I have doubts over whether it is best equipped if they are to be involved in a relegation battle.
I would expect them to finish around the bottom of the table but I think they will have enough quality to stay up and enjoy a season of consolidation, and I look forward to seeing how their young players will develop against tougher opposition.
Last season: Promoted (1st in 1st Division)
Prediction: 10th
Key player: Indy Groothuizen, 24, Dutch
Young player to watch: Wahid Faghir, 17, Danish
That marks the end of the Superliga 2020/21 Season Preview, if you agree/disagree or have any other feedback you would like to give I would gladly welcome it!
- Please share if you enjoyed!
- Find me on Twitter here for more Superliga content over the course of the season.
- Transfers and fees provided by Transfermarkt.
