Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard has been backed to hit another level at Arsenal, by the man who signed him for previous club HSV Hamburg.
BILD cover comments from PSV Eindhoven director Frank Arnesen today the man who brought him to German side Hamburg back in 2012.
He arrived as a youngster from Lyngby BK U19 in a €400,000 deal and was placed into Hamburg’s second team before then going into the first team.
He would stay in Germany for just a year, though, making 22 appearances for the first team, before being sold back to Denmark and Bröndby IF in a €350,000 deal.
He’s risen up from there, heading to Fiorentina five years later before joining Brentford in a €3.5m deal in 2019. He’s impressed for the Bees since, with 13 goals and 18 assists in 196 games and a key role during their time in the Premier League so far.
Now he appears to be on the verge of a move to Arsenal, with various reports making it clear that Arsenal are finalising a deal for the 31-year-old as they reshape their squad this summer.
Arnesen can certainly see that move being beneficial for everyone and believes he has been justified in what he told HSV about Norgaard at the time.
“That would be a great step for Christian. I think he could make it at the Gunners as well. He’s a highly intelligent guy who would reach a new level with this move,” he said.
“I was released from Hamburg in May 2013. Shortly afterward, Christian was transferred to Denmark. I had stated at the time that they needed to give the boy time.
“He was already a professional player in terms of technique and game skills. His physical development just wasn’t quite there yet. But unfortunately, they didn’t have that patience with Norgaard back then.”
