Gossip: Lions striker eyed by Premier League sides
Millwall's 20-year-old Serbian forward Mihailo Ivanovic is interesting several Premier League clubs, including Everton, after scoring 14 goals in all competitions for the Lions last season. (London World)
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Arsenal looking to experience with Norgaard, but do they need youth in their midfield too?
Arsenal's recruitment team have had a busy week. On Wednesday, The Athletic's David Ornstein reported Mikel Arteta's side are finalising an agreement for Brentford's Christian Norgaard, believed to be around €11million (£9.3m). That followed reports in the Transfer DealSheet on Tuesday that Sevilla's 23-year-old French midfielder Lucien Agoume was also attracting interest. Advertisement Martin Zubimendi's long-awaited move to the capital is nearing completion, but Arsenal want to continue bolstering the centre of the pitch. Jorginho departed at the start of June and no agreement has been reached with Thomas Partey, so it is understandable the club are in the market for players who can share the minutes in that deeper midfield role. It's not just in midfield that Arsenal are looking to recruit; they are also working on a deal for Valencia's Cristhian Mosquera, just 21 years old, in defence. With over 350 combined Premier League appearances between them, losing both Jorginho and Partey would represent a huge loss when it comes to leadership and experience. In that respect, Norgaard is as proven as they come in English football, one of only 10 central midfielders with over 10,000 minutes since he was promoted with Brentford in 2021, a dependable sitting midfielder who loves to cut up opposition moves and anchor the play. On the flip side, this could be an opportunity to also bring in a younger midfielder with potential to develop, and eventually provide healthy competition from a supporting post. Agoume fits that bill on a number of fronts and flourished at the Under-21 European Championship at the base of the French midfield as they reached the semi-finals. He has plenty of top-flight exposure across multiple loan moves — racking up over 7,500 minutes in Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga — and should be available at a fair price. His current club, Sevilla, paid just €4m (£3.4m) for his services last summer and are struggling to comply with salary caps imposed upon them by La Liga. They also took Albert Sambi Lokonga on loan from Arsenal last season, and should be willing to do business should Arteta's side come calling. To invest in the future, to shore up the present, or both? The Athletic takes a look. One of the best compliments you can pay Norgaard — a full international for Denmark and a Premier League regular across the last four seasons — is that you probably haven't noticed him too much. Anchoring the midfield of a recently-promoted team is no mean feat, but Norgaard has been a reliable presence from the start, nodding home the second of Brentford's goals on that opening-day victory over Arsenal in August 2021. Advertisement He is a diligent midfielder, gritty and tough-tackling, working away in the engine room where his concentration and positional discipline without the ball helps to root Brentford in their defensive shape. Norgaard doesn't often go looking for trouble. He ranks in the bottom 50 per cent of Premier League midfielders for 'true' tackle attempts per 1000 opposition touches this season, a metric that measures how often a player looks to 'stick a foot in' when his team are without the ball. Instead, the play tends to come to him; denying a dangerous dribbler entry to the penalty area with a strong tackle, scrapping for loose balls in the engine room and getting a foot whenever the chance presents. Here he is against Wolves on the final day of the season, for example, keeping an eye on the run of Joao Gomes before eventually stepping in to help dispossess Nelson Semedo as he scampers into the midfielder's zone. And here against Southampton, protecting the back four on the edge of the box, Norgaard is once again clean in his defensive work, emphatically shutting the door on Adam Armstrong as he tries to drive through. Using data from Footovision, 38 per cent of Brentford's organised defensive shapes can be categorised as 'low' blocks, the largest such share in the Premier League. It shows that Thomas Frank's side are comfortable dropping deep and defending close to their own goal, with Norgaard's willingness to shield his defence playing a huge role. Despite his more passive defensive style, Norgaard also has the energy to step up in a higher press, happy to go man-for-man to help pen the opposition in from goal kicks. His commitment in defence was outlined by Mark Carey of The Athletic earlier this season, first seen in the series of images below chasing Alexis Mac Allister into midfield. Within a minute, the Dane is tucked into a back five, covering the half-space run of Luis Diaz and blocking the pass through to the winger. A tireless defensive enforcer, Norgaard's tactical intelligence and work rate will appeal to Arteta, a player who can bring solidity to midfield and see out tight games from the bench, and even fill in as a back-up centre-back if required. When he does push forward, Norgaard's sense of anticipation and solid tackling ability often helps to pen the opposition in, as we see here against Bournemouth. After team-mate Kevin Schade loses the ball on the edge of the box, Norgaard has already squeezed up and spots the opportunity to make another big tackle on Antoine Semenyo, helping his side to keep the pressure on high up the pitch. With 11 Premier League goals, averaging over a shot per game, Norgaard's utility doesn't end without the ball. Nine of those came from set pieces — another tall, battling presence to add to Arsenal's growing collection — as well as three that he bundled home after long throws. There are questions as to whether his ability to deal with the ball under pressure will translate to a high-possession side, but Norgaard is a serviceable Premier League passer. As we can see from his player radar below, calculated from FBref data, he excels in defensive and shooting metrics, but falls behind slightly when it comes to ball retention. That said, Norgaard still moves the ball forward well and is a capable line-breaker whenever the space opens up ahead. Here is a nice example against Bournemouth, dropping off to receive the pass for Vitaly Janelt, before punching it back through to his team-mate with a disguised pass. Norgaard won't revolutionise Arsenal's in-possession game, but for the defensive dependability and professionalism he brings, Arteta's intention is clear. Whether a deal for Norgaard diminishes Arsenal's interest in Agoume remains to be seen. The 23-year-old brings much the same destruction without the ball — a strong, tall midfielder who relishes a defensive duel — but with the added intrigue of his potential in possession. From a defensive perspective, his physical stature and athleticism already leave him in a good place. Agoume puts himself about, rarely shying away from big tackles and always attentive to make interceptions and snuff out counter-attacks at source. As we can see from the barcode chart below, he is one of the more adventurous midfielders in La Liga, but is able to back up that aggression with a high win rate, also competing well in the air. Here against Leganes, for example, we can see Agoume is quick to jump out of the midfield line to nick the ball from Oscar Rodriguez, keen to keep his side on the front foot after they take the lead. And here against Las Palmas, we see his sheer power in defensive duels, crashing through the midfield and winning a clean tackle with forward momentum on his side. Agoume is particularly good in those loose-ball situations, stamping his authority on 50-50 duels with full-on, front-footed defending. From an Arsenal perspective, his ability to deal with counter-attacks — both from anticipatory interceptions and back-tracking recovery runs — would gel with an ambitious possession team. He clings to runners, reels them back in with shirt-tugs and shoulder charges, and isn't afraid to go clattering in if it stops the break. That said, his rate of 2.1 fouls per game can see the cards stack up. Advertisement But there is also clear ability on the ball, quietly posting some encouraging passing numbers with clear scope to add more. According to SkillCorner, only 10 La Liga midfielders completed more line-breaking passes per 90 minutes last season and Agoume is particularly good at moving the ball through midfield with short, crisp passes and finding runners in behind with floated passes over the top. Agoume registered three assists last season, and is good at picking out crosses when he advances down the flanks, but it was his connection with livewire winger Dodi Lukebakio that stood out, the player to whom Agoume completed the most passes in league football. As we can see in the clip below, Agoume is happy to drop into defence to help with the build-up, before he jumps into midfield and plays a precise through pass for his winger. The strength in Agoume's legs also allows him to strike through the ball consistently cleanly, as we can see with this inch-perfect 60-yard pass into Lukebakio. He fizzed a side-footed shot past Jan Oblak in April, and threatened to bulldoze his way through teams with bustling runs on a number of occasions last season. That mix of forward momentum and technical ability is an exciting basis to build from as his career goes on. In Norgaard, they seem to be getting one of the Premier League's most trusted midfielders. And at a decent price, should they also be trying to add youth to their midfield to plan for the future as much as the present. (Top photos: Google Images)
