In 2020, Mikkel Damsgaard stole the headlines with some marvelous performances for Sampdoria after making the switch from Danish Superliga club Nordsjælland. The young attacking midfielder went on to become one of Denmark’s main stars in the country’s memorable and heart-warming run in Euro 2020. Unfortunately for the Blucerchiati talent, injuries derailed his progress in 2021/22, but he’ll surely return stronger nest season.
Nonetheless, Damsgaard won’t be the last great product of Nordsjælland. In fact, the club is filled with up-and-coming starlets who are eager to showcase their prowess on a more prestigious stage.
So let’s take a closer look at four promising Nordsjælland youngsters who are ready to emulate Daamsgard’s success
Simon Adingra
Simon Adingra is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in the Scandinavian region and is one of the blossoming teenagers in the Nordsjaelland setup. Due to their attacking style of play, we can see that he takes a lot of touches and shots for his side. He inclines to take a lot of shots from outside the box, which can be improved further or be coached. He is also a very good dribbler and has a very good skill set with a low centre of gravity. If he can improve his off-ball movement he would develop into much more of a goal threat. (Total Football Analysis)
Adringa topped the Superliga 2021/2022 charts for the completion of the most successful dribbles and the highest amount of ball touches in the oppositions penalty box. He is known for exciting and direct playing style, beating defenders in 1v1 situations with his array of skills and pace, and has been praised for showing courage to get into the box as much as possible to help win games for his team.
The Nordsjaelland teenager has recorded 5.05 successful dribbles per game and 4.06 progressive runs per game. He is an outlier among the players in the graph above. He also wins 6.5 offensive duels on average. (Data taken from the first half of the season, Total Football Analysis)
The striker topped the table for the most shots per 90 minutes (av. 3.73, FB REF) across the league, which lead to him contributing 10 goals and 4 assists this season in the Superliga, he was the player of the season for FC Nordsjaelland and is tipped to be the next star out of the famous Right To Dream Academy. Looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mikkel Daamsgaard and Kamaldeen Sulemana who have been before him, Adringa is hotly tipped for a move this season.
Watch Adringa’s season highlights here:
Date of birth: 01 January 2002
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Position: LW, ST
Height: 1.75m
Preferred foot: Right
Plays Like: Kamaldeen Sulemana, Pedro Neto, Callum Hudson-Odoi 2021/2022 stats:
• Appearances: 33
• Minutes played: 1918
• Goals: 10
• Assists: 4
Andreas Schjelderup
Born in 2004, Andreas Schjelderup is a Norwegian playmaker who recently featured in the NXGN 2022 list of the 50 best wonderkids in football. The attacking midfield can also play on either wing due to the quality his has on both his left and right foot. He is a set-piece expert having already established himself as the team’s dead ball specialist, which helped him contribute four goals this season in the Superliga.
The 18-year-old has a wealth of talent, named as Norway’s record-breaking wonder kid after being the youngest player ever to win the Young Superliga Player of the month at the age of 16 and being already capped by the Norwegian under-21 team.
He scored his first Superliga goal at age 16 in the derby against Lyngby in Autumn 2020 and became the youngest goal scorer ever for FC Nordsjaelland in a league game.
His coaches were blown away by his work off the pitch, as he gained 8 kilos of muscle mass during his first season, as there were early concerns he might be too skinny. Showing testament to his professional approach to training and off-field living despite such a young age.
Likened to Jack Grealish, clubs such as Bayern Munich, Juventus, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are hot on his heels. With the latter a club he recently rejected for a move to FC Nordsjaelland
“Of course, it was a bit hard (turning down Liverpool), because when you grow up, you watch the big names and then you hear that they want you, so your head starts to spin. But I got a lot of help from my father and agents, who helped me make the right decision.”
Watch Andreas’ season highlights here:
Date of birth: 01 June 2004
Nationality: Norway
Position: AM, LW, CF
Height: 1.76m
Preferred foot: Right
Plays Like: Jack Grealish, Julian Brandt, Mason Mount 2021/2022 stats:
• Appearances: 23
• Minutes played: 1439
• Goals: 4
Oliver Antman
Wonderkid Oliver Antman was born in Finland in 2001, and plays as a centre forward but has been known to play a deeper role in centre midfield.
The child prodigy was nicknamed “the Finnish Messi” at a very young age due to his incredible ball skills and his fast feet and had a news bulletin about him when he was 8-years old, as he was being widely tipped to be the countries next big star, and currently plays a very important role for the under-21 national team.
The pacey striker is known for his penetrative runs from deep and wins a high number of offensive duels. This has led to him contributing 6 goals this season and 2 assists in the Superliga this season.
Watch Oliver’s highlights here:
Date of birth: 15 August 2001
Nationality: Finland
Position: CF, AM, CM
Height: 1.85m
Preferred foot: Right
Plays Like: Alexander Isak, Erling Haaland, Julien Alvarez 2021/2022 stats:
• Appearances: 28
• Minutes played: 1610
• Goals: 6
• Assists: 2
Adamo Nagalo
Adamo Nagalo, the 19-year-old wonder boy from the Ivory Coast, plays as a centre back for FC Nordsjaelland since being permanently promoted to the first team squad ahead of the 2021/22 season, he is showing a lot promise and potential in a hard position to break into.
Securing 6 clean sheets and contributing one goal in the Superliga this season, he has impressed pundits as well as teammates in the Superliga this season with his physicality. Proving he is able to match up with the strongest strikers in Scandinavian football and deal with the quick forwards due to his acceleration and pace.
He has shown great development in his passing game which comes natural to him as a former central midfielder at the Right To Dream Academy. Whilst also showing his heading ability both defensively and offensively – having scored for FC Nordsjaelland this season from corners.
Date of birth: 22 September 2002
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Position: CB
Height: 1.85m
Preferred foot: Right
Plays Like: Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Nelsson 2021/2022 stats:
• Appearances: 29
• Minutes played: 2092
• Goals: 1
• Clean sheets: 6