Denmark‘s Euro 2020 run might have ended against England on Wednesday night, but Kasper Hjulmand and his squad will rightfully be given the hero treatment when they touch down in Copenhagen.
A tournament that began in near-tragic circumstances when Christian Eriksen collapsed against Finland just under a month ago, almost ended in unexpected triumph as the Danes defied expectations to reach the semi-final.
More so than any other team in the competition, Denmark’s success was built around a collective effort and unbreakable spirit, reinforced after what happened to their talisman in the first game, but they played with plenty of quality too, both as a team and as individuals.
As the country with the 16th youngest squad at the tournament (with an average age of 27.3 years), most of Denmark’s players are already seasoned, established stars, playing for big clubs in Europe’s most reputable leagues. The central spine of the team has been together for some time.
But over the course of the last four weeks, others have emerged to enjoy breakout international tournaments and put themselves firmly in the transfer shop window this summer.
Here are three of Denmark’s Euro 2020 stars who could be coming to a big club near you…
Mikkel Damsgaard (Sampdoria)
Eriksen has been Denmark’s creative director for over a decade and replacing him was always going to be a gigantic ask given there was no obvious like-for-like alternative in the squad. Indeed, rather than giving an impossible assignment to another member of his squad, Hjulmand shrewdly tweaked his system instead, in a move that benefited the silky Mikkel Damsgaard.
Although a different type of player to Eriksen – a dribbler more than a playmaker – Damsgaard’s two most memorable moments of the tournament were distinctly Eriksen-esque. First, there was the stunning goal from range against Russia, which bent through the air before nestling in the top corner and then there was the sublime free-kick that swerved and dipped past Jordan Pickford on Wednesday night.
Blessed with nimble footwork, exceptional balance and wonderful technique, Damsgaard seems an unusual fit for a Sampdoria side that averaged the fourth-lowest possession rate in Serie A last season. Over the course of Euro 2020, he has been linked with Arsenal, Barcelona, Liverpool, Milan and Tottenham, amongst others.
“The best place for him is a place that believes in him,” Damsgaard’s ex-youth coach at FC Nordsjaelland, Kasper Kurland, told i last month. “You could say that [he would struggle] with the physicality and tempo of the Premier League but he would adapt. I can definitely see him playing in England.”
Joakim Maehle (Atalanta)
It is a testament to Kyle Walker’s defensive qualities that Joakim Maehle was extremely subdued during the semi-final on Wednesday night. Similarly to Damsgaard, Hjulmand’s tactical tweak suited him down to the ground, shifting him from a full-back position to a more offensive wing-back role that he is accustomed to playing for at club level with Atalanta.
Prior to the England match, Maehle had directly contributed towards a goal in three consecutive matches, scoring against Russia and Wales, before providing one of the assists of the tournament in the quarter-final win over the Czech Republic. Only Martin Braithwaite (with 15) had more goal attempts for the Danes than Maehle (10) in the tournament.
Maehle only joined Atalanta from Genk in January in a deal worth around £8.5m and while the Serie A club will want to hang onto him for a little while longer, the club’s business model is centred upon cashing in on their players at the peak of their value. A superb Euro 2020 will have bumped his price tag up considerably.
Jacob Friis, his former youth coach at AaB doesn’t think he’ll be in a rush, though, telling i: “He has the skills to do that [move to a bigger club] but he doesn’t take radical decisions, he is a loyal guy and will be 100 per cent focused on doing well and winning something with Atalanta.”
Kasper Dolberg (Nice)
Kasper Dolberg emerged as one of the most talked-about young strikers in Europe during a breakthrough season with Ajax in 2016-17, scoring 23 goals in 47 matches as the club reached the Europa League final.
Increased expectations led to his progress stalling in Amsterdam over the next two campaigns, however, culminating in a £17.5m move to Nice in 2019 and he has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular goal return in France, netting 17 times in 55 games in all competitions.
There have been mitigating circumstances, though, as Dolberg was laid low by Covid and appendicitis last season and this tournament has offered a truer reflection of his abilities. Dolberg scored three times from as many starts at Euro 2020, including a superb effort against Wales in the last 16.
Still only 23, Dolberg could be a shrewd pick up for a club looking to remodel their attack around a mobile centre forward with an eye for goal.
More from i on Euro 2020
- Why there have been so many own goals – from tiredness to lazy defending
- We need to talk about Jordan Pickford – the unsung hero of this England team
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3xpnh2S
Post a Comment