Celtic’s new Swedish forward with echoes of Larsson

Celtic fans will naturally recall the legend Henrik Larsson, and is he, in the future when talks about signing another Swedish international forward arise.

He spent seven trophy-filled seasons with the Glasgow club before making an impressive comeback for Barcelona and Manchester United in his twilight years. He was bought for a pittance from Feyenoord for a pittance in 1997.

After moving from Nordsjaelland for a reported less than £2 million, Benjamin Nygren will have a dream job similar to that at Celtic Park.

The 23-year-old has been playing in the Danish Superliga for three and a half years, but he recently stated in a recent Swedish television interview that he thinks it’s time to switch to a bigger club, in front of a packed stadium, and to compete in the Champions League.

Before making his competitive debut as a 16-year-old in 2018, Nygren made his debut through IFK Goteborg’s youth ranks.

Despite being reportedly interested in Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Manchester City, that was shortly after he agreed to professional terms with his neighborhood club.

When he moved to Genk in Belgium’s top flight for a reported $4.2 million, a record-breaking sale by IFK, he was only 17 years old.

By that point, Nygren had only made 15 appearances, but the Swedish national had already scored six goals in his second season with the first team, which finished seventh in Sweden’s top division, scoring four more in 12 of those appearances.

He would only score once in his seven games for Genk, but his loan to the Netherlands came in the wake of his European travels.

Heerenveen finished 12th overall in the Eredivisie and advanced to a national cup semi-final with the help of Nygren scoring seven times in 32 appearances.

His second season on loan was less successful, with 19 net appearances. He left Nordsjaelland in January 2022, cutting the length of his Genk contract by two years.

His modest beginnings helped his new club avoid relegation, along with current Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande.

However, Nygren’s career was back on track after Nordsjaelland was tipped for the top of the table by the end of the regular season but was subsequently overtaken by Copenhagen after scoring six goals in 31 games in his first full season in the Superliga.

Although they would finish third behind Fenerbahce and Ludogorets Razgrad, finishing third at least gave rise to Conference League group stage football the following year.

The Swede scored a double in a 7-1 victory over the Bulgarians, and added a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory over the Turks, which undoubtedly helped draw Nygren’s attention.

With Nordsjaelland now minus Ibrox-bound Diomande, finishing fourth overall and a combined 12 goals from 31 games, Nygren would surpass that goal by finding the net 16 times in 32 games, despite his team being only fifth this year.

Nygren becomes Brendan Rodgers’ first true new face of the summer with Scotland defender Kieran Tierney returning from Celtic Park on a free transfer from Arsenal and Ross Doohan returning as Aberdeen back-up goalkeeper.

It should come as no surprise that Celtic paid for a player with Nygren’s qualities for their first outgoing fee since the start of the transfer window.

Daizen Maeda, a fellow Japan international, had occasionally been pushed up front from his usual wide left role as Kyogo Furuhashi was sold to Rennes near the end of the January window.

Even though Maeda outshined specialist Adam Idah, it left Celtic without options on the wings, especially with Jota’s injury, who had just returned from Rennes in January.

Another wide man with a goal threat was desperately needed, with the Portuguese being ruled out until the end of the year and right winger Maeda and the Portuguese being reported to be drawing interest from clubs all over Europe.

Nygren shouldn’t be seen as a radical right-winger.

Nygren frequently drifts infield with his preferred left foot to shoot for goal while impressing on loan from Wolfsburg last season, similar to Vaclav Cerny’s style.

In fact, Mats Gren, the IFK sporting director, claimed in a recent interview that he is the best at number 10.

For instance, his first two goals against Fenerbahce came from kicking the ball in the penalty box.

In addition, he has since added a curled finish against Hungary and his third against the Turks and his first for Sweden, both of which earned him his second cap in a 5-1 defeat of Northern Ireland in March.

No wonder Brendan Rodgers has described Nygren as an “exciting” player who will make people laugh.

The Swede leads in goals on goals, goals per game, and aerial duels won, despite the fact that the German has more dribbles and creates more chances for others.