Brondby ‘agree deal' to sell Celtic target Mathias Kvistgaarden to major European club – but English outfit also linked
A media outlet in Denmark is reporting that French club Lens have made a bid for the talented young striker.
2
Kvistgaarden playing for Sweden
Credit: Getty
2
Kvistgaarden playing at the U21s Euros
Credit: Getty
But a number of other clubs are also believed to still be in the hunt in securing his services next season.
Celtic have been linked with the attacker for some time going back two years ago in the summer of 2023 and have sent scouts to watch him.
His stock has continued to rise since then and so has his valuation.
The Hoops were also monitoring the Dane when they were looking for a replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi in January, but their interest has somewhat cooled this summer as more and more clubs enter the frame.
The striker looks almost certain to leave Brondby and is likely to become the club's most expensive sale in their history.
According to Tipsbladet, Ligue 1 side Lens are confident there is an agreement between the clubs for a player valued at more than £11million.
However, the article states that there is no indication of how much has been offered, or if personal terms have been agreed between Kvistgaarden and Lens.
The 23-year-old caught the attention after a stunning campaign, scoring 23 goals in 38 games and is not short of potential suitors this summer.
Premier League side West Ham have been reportedly interested as too ambitious English Championship team Norwich City, Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt and Serie A giants Lazio.
But it appears Lens could be winning the race to sign the forward.
Ex-Celtic coach Eric Black on the Cup exit that rocked Scottish football plus life with Lubo and Dr Jo
Despite the growing list of suitors Brondby's sporting director insists nothing has been finalised.
Benjamin Schmedes said: "It doesn't surprise me that there is great interest in him from many teams, but I can't say that he is close to being sold or that he is far from being sold either.
"That's because it is an ongoing process and the most important thing is that we are very transparent in our dialogue with each other."
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
France seeking end to years of hurt and internal conflicts at Euro 2025
'I want people to stop asking me: 'Why haven't France won anything when you're one of the best teams in the world?'' Marie-Antoinette Katoto, like all her teammates, has only one dream this summer: to win the Euros. To do that, though, they have to come to terms with a history of tournament failures with the most recent one coming at the home Olympics last year, when they were knocked out by Brazil at the quarter-final stage. 'We have had opportunities and twice failed to win it at home in France. We have to have the humility to admit that,' admits Sakina Karchaoui, one of the team's vice-captains, referring also to the 2019 World Cup on home soil, when they lost to the USA in the quarter-finals. The list of failures is so long that the word 'finally' is added to any question about Les Bleues' chances. France have only managed to reach the semi-finals of a major women's competition on three occasions: the 2011 World Cup, the 2012 Olympic Games and Euro 2021. Repeated disappointments have taken a toll. 'Since we prepare for tournaments a year or two years in advance, when you arrive at the competition and you get eliminated quickly, yes, at some point it also has an impact on the mind,' says Grace Geyoro. 'It can be exhausting, especially when you see the [quality in the] team we have.' On Saturday, they start their latest mission at Euro 2025 against England in Zurich. It could not have been a tougher opening, the Lionesses having the last Euros in 2022 with a coach who also won the previous tournament, in 2019 with the Netherlands. The Dutch are also in France's group in Switzerland, together with Wales. France have always had individual quality. As far as the 2000s there have been players such as Louisa Nécib Cadamuro, Camille Abily, Marie-Laure Delie, Sandrine Soubeyrand and Laura Georges, before the arrival of Eugénie Le Sommer and Wendie Renard. All of which begs the question: Why haven't France triumphed in a major tournament. 'If we knew why France weren't winning, I think we'd have put things right by now,' says Abily, the fifth-most capped player in Les Bleues history with 183 caps between 2001 and 2017. 'I think there's a tendency in France to see football as an individual sport, thinking more about oneself before thinking about the team. That's what's been a bit lacking in the French team.' Grace Geyoro agrees: 'We've relied a lot on individuals, on the fact that one player can make the difference. Now we need to focus more on the collective, because we can only win together.' The team has often been shaken by internal conflicts, whether it be disagreements with the coach Corinne Diacre or players clashing such as Kheira Hamraoui and Aminata Diallo in 2021. Elise Bussaglia, who earned 192 caps between 2003 and 2019, says: 'The group hasn't always coped well, for various reasons. And it's true that at one point it could have had a detrimental effect on our results.' One of the areas of tension was the disconnect between the players from Lyon, who were professionals at the time, and those from Juvisy (later Paris FC) and Paris Saint-Germain, who were still semi-professional. The current Chelsea head coach, Sonia Bompastor, touches on the subject in her book Une vie de foot, which was published this year, writing: 'We weren't on the same wavelength at all, and we didn't have the same conception of what it meant to be a footballer. For me, losing a match was the end of the world; not for them.' Abily, who is Bompastor's assistant at Chelsea, insists that in her day, the team 'didn't realise' the quality it had. 'I remember that when we qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2011, we said to ourselves: 'Wow! That's great, we're here, we've qualified!' Bussaglia, who finished fourth with France at the 2011 World Cup and the following year's Olympics, adds: 'There are times when the French team should have at least won a medal, if not the title, and it didn't happen. There needs to be a bit more of a winning culture. But it's not just the federation, it's everyone: the players, the staff, the fans, everyone. Around this French team, there's still not enough desire to win.' Bompastor has also spoken about the lack of interest from the French FA in the women's team in the past. 'Nobody gave a damn about the French women's team,' she wrote in her book. 'We used to go and see Noël Le Graët, the president of the federation, to explain to him that the reason Lyon were European champions was because we'd put certain processes in place, and not because we'd gone off to summer camps with a singing coach [referring to Bruno Bini, Les Bleues coach from 2007 to 2013 who wrote songs for the players]. The only thing that mattered to him was our popularity rating and our good image.' There was a feeling by some players that the French FA was using the women's team to restore its reputation after the catastrophic 2010 World Cup when the men's team went on strike and refused to train by staying on the team bus. A lack of ambition is no longer true today, says Eric Blahic, who was assistant coach to Corinne Diacre and then Hervé Renard (2023-24) and was delighted to see the latter end the 'famous semi-final complex'. 'For years, the girls were told that they had to be in the sem-finals,' he says. 'That doesn't mean anything. Third or fourth is not the same thing. You have to say: the objective is the final.' He also rejects the idea that France have failed to go all the way because of a mental block. 'In 1982, when the French men's team played in the semi-final in Seville, when we led 3-1 and ended up being eliminated, people were already saying that it was mental problems. If that's all it was, the federation would have taken action a long time ago.' Laurent Bonadei was appointed as Renard's successor in August 2024 and since then a full-time mental performance coach, Thomas Sammut, has been part of the team 'to break this glass ceiling'. He has made other changes too, dropping three key players – Le Sommer, Renard and Kenza Dali – just before the Euros, saying that 'if it doesn't work you have to try something new'. Bonadei will also have to deal with Les Bleues' misfortune when it comes to penalties in major tournaments. Bussaglia says of the Olympics semi-final defeat to Japan in 2012: 'At the Olympics, in the semi-final, we were 2-1 down and I missed the penalty to make it 2-2. I'd never missed a penalty in my life but I missed that one.' Blahic, meanwhile, recalls the shootout loss to Australia in the 2023 World Cup, when Kenza Dali missed her spot kick against club teammate Mackenzie Arnold not once but twice as it was retaken. 'All the girls had taken lots of penalties in training, in all different forms, against three different goalkeepers,' he explains. Bonadei prefers to refer to France as 'outsiders' rather than favourites, despite having won their eight last games going into the tournament. 'Confidence is good for developing our game, but overconfidence is the trap that awaits us,' warns Bonadei. In Switzerland there is unlikely to be overconfidence as France have to battle against not only their opponents, but their past too.
Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
William Gallas says Chelsea are right not to sign 'crazy' £45m Man Utd target
William Gallas believes Chelsea would be wise to avoid a move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in this summer's transfer window. Chelsea have already made attempts to sign a new goalkeeper this summer, but were unsuccessful in their pursuit of Mike Maignan prior to the Club World Cup. The French goalkeeper was keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, but AC Milan have since confirmed that their captain will not be leaving the club this summer. Later reports suggested that the Blues had been offered the chance to sign Martinez for £45million, with Villa looking to cash in on the World Cup winner due to their financial situation. However, it has been said that while Chelsea 'respect' Martinez, they do not currently plan to make an offer for the Argentina international who has also attracted interest from Manchester United. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. And that decision has been endorsed by former Blues defender Gallas who believes that the 32-year-old's crazy antics would make him a bad fit for the London club. 'He's a good goalkeeper,' Gallas told Prime Casino. 'Obviously, he was a key player for Argentina. He's done well at Aston Villa since he joined them from Arsenal those years ago, but I have to admit, I have some serious doubts about whether he would be a good fit for Chelsea. 'I don't know if he's got the right profile to be the goalkeeper of Chelsea. When I think about his antics, I just don't think he would be a positive addition to the club. 'People talk about his personality, his passion, I'm not sure that is a good fit for the club. I don't think he would be the right goalkeeper. 'Chelsea need a goalkeeper that is as good as him or maybe better, but with a different profile. Someone that does their job without doing all of the other stuff that Martinez does.' 'I'm sorry but give me the name of one goalkeeper with the same profile,' Gallas continued. 'Name another goalkeeper who grabs his crotch and dances around when he makes a save, one goalkeeper who has done that who has played for a big club. You won't be able to name one. More Trending 'Goalkeepers are crazy. Jens Lehmann, he was crazy. Carlo Cudicini, he was crazy. Cech was cool. 'Lehmann would never behave like Martinez – Martinez brings too much negative attention. You want a goalkeeper to make saves, keep clean sheets and leave the pitch. Martinez doesn't do that.' While Chelsea don't currently look likely to pursue a move for Martinez, they have been active in the window as they look to provide Maresca with more attacking firepower. Liam Delap and Joao Pedro have both arrived from Ipswich Town and Brighton respectively, while a deal for Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens is reportedly close to being finalised. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Troy Deeney tips 'exceptional' Chelsea star for Barcelona or Real Madrid transfer MORE: Palmeiras vs Chelsea UK time, TV channel, stream, team news and odds MORE: Man Utd star stripped of iconic shirt number as transfer exit looms
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
England midfielder Gomes joins Marseille
England midfielder Angel Gomes has joined nine-time French champions Marseille after his contract expired at fellow Ligue 1 outfit de Zerbi's Marseille had already reached an agreement in principle to sign the 24-year-old, who announced in May he would leave Lille at the end of his earned his first four senior caps for England under interim manager Lee Carsley last year, but has yet to feature under current boss Thomas midfielder began his career at Manchester United but left in 2020 having made just 10 appearances in all competitions, after making his debut as a 16-year-old in spent the past four seasons in Ligue 1, after initially being loaned to Boavista in Portugal, scoring 10 goals and providing 19 assists in 134 appearances for will be reunited with former United team-mate Mason Greenwood at Marseille, who finished second to Paris St-Germain in Ligue 1 and will play in the Champions League next season.
