Latest news with #BenjaminNygren
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Managing Celtic – £25m exit jackpot funds transfer spending spree as 3 arrivals near after Nygren deal
It's been a busy window at Celtic Park but what business do they have left to do? Brendan Rodgers has been crystal clear he won't sit still this summer as he looks to take Celtic to new heights. We're into the third summer of his second spell in charge and failing to freshen things up at this junction last time set the wheels in motion for the collapse of 10 in a Row. The Hoops sat on their hands in the summer of 2018 and while they went on to get the Treble over the line under Neil Lennon, a window which yielded precious little quality marked the beginning of a brief and sharp decline. But Rodgers isn't making that mistake again. He already has his new No.8, Benjamin Nygren, in the door, as well as the return of Kieran Tierney and the arrival of new third-choice keeper Ross Doohan. And those are expected to be the first signings of many, with reinforcements sought all over the pitch. Record Sport have taken a deep dive into what we expect from the rest of the window at Parkhead. Incomings Kieran Tierney's done. Ross Doohan's done. Benjamin Nygren's done. So what's next? In all likelihood, it will be Fulham striker Callum Osmand whose talks we understand are well along the road. Promising young strikers coming from Craven Cottage might have fans swooning at the idea of a new Moussa Dembele but Osmand is a totally different profile and isn't expected to be a first-team starter right away. That's why Rodgers is hell-bent on landing another number nine – one who can come in and challenge Adam Idah for the starting spot, freeing up Daizen Maeda to return to his natural left-wing role. At this stage it's unclear exactly who that could be. Bojan Miovski was a target in the past and hasn't exactly hit the ground running at Girona so he could be one. Fans have been slightly reticent about signing a striker who has only done it at Aberdeen, but he's a proven scorer in the SPFL. David Strelec is another who has never quite gone away and has recently made noises about a move. A return for Odsonne Edouard? He'll be available for relatively cheap after a difficult spell with Leicester. Beyond that there may be another winger on the cards, depending on where Rodgers views Nygren's best position. Jota is out long-term and that leaves only Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn and the Norwegian as fancied options. There's space there for one more and Michel-Ange Balikwisha has been heavily linked for a reason. And then there's left-back. If you asked Rodgers, he'd rather have Greg Taylor competing with Tierney than anyone else, but if that's not going to happen, then there are a few options. Jeffrey Schlupp is still very much available while it recently emerged that Manchester United are struggling to shift Tyrell Malacia, who was heavily linked with the Hoops in January. Owen Beck, anybody? Rangers are interested after the Hoops wanted him in the winter and Celtic fans would relish the chance to sign him from under their rivals' nose, as unlikely as that currently appears to be. Keep an eye out for Hayato Inamura, the versatile Japan defender who can play centrally and on the left. Celtic are keen to secure his services. Celtic have reportedly had a £5.1m bid rejected for Red Star standout Veljko Milosavljevic – the 18-year-old has been watched by a clutch of clubs. So, in recap, Osmand, a standout winger and securing another defensive option appear to be next with the fast-rising Milosavljevic also desired. Outgoings Along those lines, it looks increasingly like Taylor will be away to PAOK, and Rodgers will be hoping he's the only departing player who will need to be directly replaced. Kuhn has been prominently linked with a move back to the continent but that will take a significant fee to come off. But if an offer in the region of £15m does arrive, then the timing may just be right to sell after his alarming drop-off in the second half of last season. Of the players who could be moved on to clear space, there doesn't appear to be much of a future for Yang – particularly if another winger is recruited as expected. James Forrest will likely fill in the gaps where the main men need rests and the South Korean looks surplus to requirements. There's not much wiggle room for midfield sales as things are slightly thin on the ground. But Hyeokkyu Kwon, who struggled out on loan at Hibs, is free to head for the door. Defensively, another returning loanee in Gustaf Lagerbielke has been heavily linked with a move to Braga and Maik Nawrocki may also be sold with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales the preferred three. And will this finally be the window that sees Stephen Welsh depart for good? Johnny Kenny is also of interest to Bolton and, with Osmand now seemingly ready to assume the third-choice striking berth, he may well be on his way for the right price. Exits for Kuhn, Yang, Kwon, Lagerbielke, Welsh and Kenny could raise a pretty penny to the tune of £25-30m.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Nygren: Celtic's new Swedish forward with echoes of Larsson
Talk of signing another Swedish international forward will naturally have Celtic fans reminiscing about the legend that was - and is - Henrik for a pittance from Feyenoord in 1997, he would spend seven trophy-filled seasons with the Glasgow club before going on to perform admirably for Barcelona and Manchester United in his twilight Nygren will be dreaming of making a similar impact at Celtic Park after completing his transfer from Nordsjaelland for a fee reportedly less than £ 23-year-old has spent three and a half years in the Danish Superliga but said in a recent Swedish television interview that he believes it is time for him to move to a bigger club, in front of a packed stadium, and to play in the Champions tick those boxes, at least if they can negotiate a play-off, but what about his profile has attracted the Scottish champions? Nygren came through IFK Goteborg's youth ranks before making his competitive debut as a 16-year-old in came shortly after he agreed professional terms with his local club despite reported interest from Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Manchester was still only 17 when he moved on to Genk in Belgium's top flight for a reported fee of £4.2m - a record sale by had only made 15 appearances by that time, but he had already displayed his scoring prowess with six goals - with four coming in 12 appearances during his second season with the first-team as they finished seventh in Sweden's top would only play seven times for Genk, scoring once, but his European travels had meantime taken him to the Netherlands on scored seven times in 32 appearances as Heerenveen finished 12th in the Eredevisie and reached a national cup second season on loan was not quite as fruitful, failing to find the net in 19 appearances, and he joined Nordsjaelland in January 2022 after having his loan spell terminated - and cutting short his contract with Genk by two Danish venture, alongside current Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande, started modestly has they helped his new club avoid Nygren's career was back on track as six goals in 31 games in his first full campaign in the Superliga took Nordsjaelland to the top of the table by the end of the regular season only to be overtaken by Copenhagen after the runners-up at least led to Conference League group stage football the following season and, although they would finish third behind Fenerbahce and Ludogorets Razgrad, it would thrust Nygren into the European Swede grabbed a double in a 7-1 thrashing of the Bulgarians and upstaged that with a hat-trick in a 6-1 drubbing of the Turks - results that no doubt helped draw Nygren to Celtic's Nordsjaelland, now minus Ibrox-bound Diomande, finishing fourth in the Superliga, Nygren would chalk up 12 goals from 31 appearances overall and, although his side were only fifth this past season, he would surpass that personally by finding the net 16 times in 32 leaves Denmark having scored 35 goals in 107 appearances overall for Nordsjaelland over three and a half seasons - the fourth-highest scorer in their history and not a bad return for someone viewed as primarily a right winger. Comparisons with Kuhn and Cerny With Scotland defender Kieran Tierney back at Celtic Park on a free transfer from Arsenal and Ross Doohan returning as back-up goalkeeper from Aberdeen, Nygren becomes Brendan Rodgers' first proper new face of the is no surprise that Celtic's first outgoing fee since the opening of the transfer window has been paid for a player with Nygren's Kyogo Furuhashi sold to Rennes near the end of the January window, fellow Japan forward Daizen Maeda had - at times - been pushed up front from his normal wide left Maeda proved to be a highly effective striker, outshining specialist Adam Idah, it left Celtic short of options on the wings, especially when Jota, who had returned in January from Rennes, was the Portuguese ruled out until the end of the year and right winger Nicolas Kuhn - and, indeed, Maeda - reportedly attracting attention from clubs around Europe, another wide man with a goal threat was badly needed. Not that Nygren should be seen as an out-and-out right winger. Nygren's style is not too disimilar to that of Vaclav Cerny, the Czech international who impressed on loan to Rangers from Wolfsburg last season, often drifting infield to fire for goal with his favoured left IFK sporting director Mats Gren was quoted in a recent interview as saying that he is best as a number first two goals against Fenerbahce, for example, came after picking the ball up centrally and dribbling into the penalty his third against the Turks and his first for Sweden - as he earned his second cap in a 5-1 thumping of Northern Ireland in March - were poacher tap-ins inside the six-yard box and he has since added a curled finish against wonder Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has described Nygren as an "exciting" player who will be a crowd to Kuhn, the German has more dribbles and creates more chances for others, but while their statistics are broadly similar, the Swede is ahead in attempts on goal, goals per game and, given his greater height, aerial duels like Larsson, Nygren will arrive as a cut-price winger, external and leave a legendary goalscorer.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Benjamin Nygren in knowing Celtic namedrop as he tells fans exactly what he hopes to bring to Parkhead
The winger becomes the Hoops' latest summer recruit as he spoke for the first time since making the move to the champions Benjamin Nygren namedropped the King of Kings as he showed he knows his Celtic history. Brendan Rodgers finally landed his man from Danish side, FC Nordsjælland on a five-year deal as he continues his summer spree. The 23-year-old is the latest Swede to follow in a long line of predecessors and the attacker was quick to show the Hoops faithful of his knowledge of those who had played for the club before him. Speaking to Celtic TV on his move, he said: "I feel amazing. It is so nice to be here. I have been looking forward to this so much and can't wait to celebrate a lot of victories. "I know of course Henrik Larsson, the King of Kings, a big legend here. I play with his son Jordan now. I also know Carl Starfelt and Gustaf Lagerbielke. Freddie Ljungberg was here for a while and Mikael Lustig." Nygren burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old and despite his young years, he comes with a wealth of top team experience. He's played at the likes of IFK Goteborg, Genk and Heerenveen before his latest spell in Denmark. He is also a full international for Sweden and while he may be one of the younger men in his new dressing room, he wants to bring his leadership skills having been skipper at his old club in his final six months in Denmark. He continued: "I am a player that wants to create a lot of chances and go towards goal. "I am a link between the defence and offence and I can run a lot. "I have a high work rate both offensively and defensively. That is what I am best at. "I can score goals, create chances from a bit behind. I come as a second wave and I am a player who wants to go towards goal and if we are leading 1-0, I want us to be 2, 3 and 4-0 and so on. "I am an offensive minded player but I also try to do my best in all parts of the game. "Something I didn't mention I had my break through when I was very young so even though I am 23-years old I have over 200/250 games or something so I have a lot of experience. "Also, I had the band [captaincy] in Nordsjælland for the last half year. It is something I want to bring." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Powys County Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Brendan Rodgers excited by Celtic's latest addition Benjamin Nygren
Brendan Rodgers has told Celtic supporters to prepare to be excited by Benjamin Nygren after the Sweden attacker signed a five-year deal with the Scottish champions. The 23-year-old former IFK Gothenburg and Genk player has joined the Hoops from Danish side Nordsjaelland for an undisclosed fee. Nygren made his Sweden debut in March of this year and has already scored two goals in four appearances for his country. 'We're delighted to have brought Benjamin to Celtic, and we're all looking forward to working with him,' Rodgers told the Celtic website. 'He's an exciting, quality player who will add to our attacking options in the squad. ✍️🇸🇪 #CelticFC is delighted to announce the signing of Benjamin Nygren from FC Nordsjælland – subject to international clearance. Välkommen, Benji! #VälkommenNygren | #CelticFC 🍀 — Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 27, 2025 'He's a young player who has already gained plenty of experience at club level, while his impressive performances last season also saw him gain his first caps for Sweden. 'Joining Celtic is the next step up in his career, and having spoken to him, he's delighted to be here and is ready to take on the exciting challenges ahead at home and in Europe. 'He's a player that I'm sure our supporters will enjoy watching and it's great to have him as part of our squad.' Nygren scored 15 goals for Nordsjaelland last season but views himself primarily as a creative player who can drive the team forward. Our newest Bhoy 👀 #VälkommenNygren | #CelticFC 🍀 — Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 27, 2025 'I feel amazing to have signed for Celtic, it's so nice to be here,' he said. 'I've been looking forward to this so much. 'I'm a player who wants to create a lot of chances and go towards goal. I'm a link between the defence and the offence and I can run a lot. I'm an offensive-minded player but I also work hard and try to do my best in all parts of the game. 'I'm a very competitive person and this is something that I love about Celtic. It's a huge club and I love that. And, also, the winning mentality. I want to be with similar-minded people who also love to win. 'I had my breakthrough when I was very young, so even though I'm 23 years old, I have played over 200 games. I have a lot of experience and that's what I want to bring.' Nygren becomes Celtic's third signing of the summer following the arrivals of Scotland defender Kieran Tierney and goalkeeper Ross Doohan.
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Nygren 'wants to be with similar-minded people' at Celtic
Benjamin Nygren "wants to be with similar-minded people who also love to win" after signing for Celtic on a five-year international, Nygren, scored 35 goals in 107 appearances for Danish side Nordsjaelland and has had spells with IFK Gothenburg, Genk and 23-year-old has netted twice in his first four senior international appearances, which have all taken place in 2025."I feel amazing to have signed for Celtic, it's so nice to be here. I've been looking forward to this so much," he told the club's website."I'm a player who wants to create a lot of chances and go towards goal. I'm a link between the defence and the offence and I can run a lot. "I'm an offensive-minded player but I also work hard and try to do my best in all parts of the game."I'm a very competitive person and this is something that I love about Celtic. It's a huge club and I love that. And, also, the winning mentality. "I want to be with similar-minded people who also love to win."I had my breakthrough when I was very young, so even though I'm 23years old, I have played over 200 games. I have a lot of experience and that's what I want to bring."
