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Norwich City may have just landed one of the signings of the summer in Mathias Kvistgaarden, and a Danish football expert has explained to us why the young striker chose the Canaries.
It was initially thought Kvistgaarden would cost Norwich around £12m, but thanks to a little-known release clause in his contract at Brondby the Canaries bagged him for just £6.9m.
The transfer has been hailed as a masterstroke for Norwich City, with the highly-rated forward arriving with big expectations ahead of the new campaign.
It’s almost too good to be true in many ways, so why did Kvistgaarden opt for the move to Carrow Road in the first place? EFL Analysis picked the brain of a Danish football expert to dig deeper into the situation.
Danish football expert reveals Mathias Kvistgaarden motivations amid Norwich City move
Speaking to Toke Theilade, the Editor-in-Chief at Vilfort Park, we asked why Kvistgaarden decided to join Norwich instead of the likes of Lens and Celtic, two clubs who could offer European football.
Theilade said: “Playing time was very important for him, and apparently Lens were not ready to guarantee that he would be their main choice for striker. Norwich, on the other hand, convinced him that they could provide plenty of playing time and made him feel wanted.
“The fact that he is united with his former teammates and friends from Brondby, Anis Slimane and Oscar Schwartau, is naturally a big plus for him as well. Also, English football is wildly popular in Denmark so the opportunity to one day play in the Premier League was very attractive.”
Discussing Kvistgaarden’s ambitions and priorities, it sounds like Norwich can expect a player who will be hungry to prove himself this season. But there is a catch: Kvistgaarden is eager to make it to the Premier League as soon as possible.
Theilade added: “The main thing is for him to play a lot and perform well. The Championship is not necessarily stopping him from reaching the Danish national team in the short term, but it isn’t an advantage either. Ligue 1 would have been better in that regard.
“But, if he can make it to the Premier League and play regularly, which he hopes to, then the road to the national team is paved for him. It would be a childhood dream coming true of course.
“I think he also acknowledges that Norwich is a big club and that the Championship is a good place to showcase his abilities for Premier League teams.”
By the sounds of it, if Norwich don’t achieve promotion in 2025/26, they may well see their new man moving on to bigger and better things fairly quickly.
How Brondby really feel about Mathias Kvistgaarden exit
Norwich fans may be buzzing with the Kvistgaarden deal, but Brondby fans are gutted to lose the 23-year-old, and especially at the reduced price cited.
On that matter, Theilade added: “It is reportedly £6.9m, which is a massively disappointing fee for Brondby, but he had a release clause in his deal, which is a big advantage for Norwich of course.
“Brondby wanted around £11.5m in January, so Norwich are getting him at a big discount here. Brondby fans are unhappy with the fee as the hope was Kvistgaarden would be the biggest ever sale.”
At the same time as Brondby missing out on a record sale, Norwich are on the verge of one of their biggest-ever sales with the impending departure of Borja Sainz.
The £14.2m fee they’ll get for Sainz will cover the cost of Kvistgaarden and still leave Norwich with plenty more left over to continue their impressive summer transfer business ahead of the new season.