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Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Greg Taylor cover broken amid Celtic transfer wait as Kvistgaarden emphatic amid £7.5m payday roadblock
It's set to be a blockbuster transfer window for the champions - and moves are already underway PAOK technical director Christos Karipidis has lifted the lid on talks with Greg Taylor. The Celtic left-back is weighing up his options ahead of his current Parkhead deal expiring this month - with Brendan Rodgers previously stating he is keen to keep the Scotland cap and see him battle it out with Kieran Tierney. But with the 27-year-old arriving from Arsenal, Taylor will see his status as first-choice left-back come under major scrutiny. PAOK have been strongly linked with the 27-year-old as they prepare for their Europa League campaign - and are said to have offered two year contract with the option of a third that will trump his current Celtic salary. Taylor is currently in Dubai with his family on holiday following the end of the double-winning season and speaking to Greek outlet Alpha, Karipidis appeared confident over an agreement. When asked about Taylor, he said: "We are simply awaiting the formal part." In terms of arrivals, Celtic are weighing up a blockbuster £12m bid for the Brondby star Mathias Kvistgaarden who is rated as one of the hottest properties in the Superliga. He has been called up to the Denmark national side for the first time amid rocketing interest from Eintracht Frankfurt and the Hoops - who have long been admirers of the 23-year-old. Before the end of the Danish season, the forward expressed he was ready to leave Brondby this summer. Speaking to TV 2 Sport after his first call-up he said: "I think I'm ready. I've made my mark at Brondby and in the Superliga, so I'm ready to take the next step." The club are also looking to offload fringe men - and despite Olympiacos will not pick up the £3.5million option-to-buy in Luis Palma 's loan El Heraldo report that the player's representatives are looking for "a route out of Celtic" permanently this summer. Gustaf Lagerbielke's permanent exit could also land the club a windfall - but FC Twente won't bring in the Swede long-term with a £3million option-to-buy with VI reporting there is a "good chance" he will return to Glasgow. Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. here and our Celtic community here.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
The Mathias Kvistgaarden journey to destination Celtic takes in sub snub and soaring £12m price tag
The Hoops are still in the fight to land the Danish sensation but the fee is rocketing after a stunning season in his homeland Danish rising star Mathias Kvistgaarden is making a name for himself for losing defenders in the box. But there was a time he even managed to evade the attention of his manager. Celtic are weighing up a blockbuster £12m bid for the Brondby superstar who is rated as one of the hottest properties in the Superliga. The 23-year-old is attracting attention from all over the continent with West Ham United the latest to keep tabs, along with the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt. But there was a time when the kid wasn't quite so noticeable – such as when he was subbed by his boss by MISTAKE. The frontman was still a teenager coming through the ranks when his gaffer Niels Fredericksen wanted to make some changes to his team. Kvistgaarden saw his number going up so trudged off and took his place on the bench – only for his manager to realise soon after they'd hooked the WRONG player. It was too late to sort out the mix up with the subs board but it wouldn't be long before the hitman started clocking up impressive numbers for the side – and plenty of teams started to notice. Kvistgaarden has long been on the radar of Hoops scouts, who made an initial approach last summer after a year of tracking. Back then the £9m fee seemed a bit steep for a youngster with a lot still to prove and it wasn't any cheaper when they were back sniffing in January after Kyogo headed to Rennes. But he's since kicked on again and enjoyed an even more prolific campaign in his homeland – blasting 23 goals in 38 games to earn a call up for the Denmark national side. Celts will be hoping keeper Kasper Schmeichel will be bending his ear in between the clashes between Northern Ireland and Lithuania, while ex-Hoops ace Matt O'Riley could also put in a word or two. Hoops fans have been hearing about this guy for about two years and they already have their heart set on the big striker heading to Scotland. It's little wonder. Kvistgaarden has been more of a slow burner than an overnight sensation in his homeland but he's now poised to secure his club a record return after seemingly saying his goodbyes to the fans at the end of the season. Former boss Fredricksen admitted he was caught off guard when the kid broke through to his first team four years ago. But he's no longer surprised there's huge interest in his former charge. When Kvistgaarden barged his way into the team in 2022, Fredericksen said: 'It was a big surprise for me. Kvistgaarden did significantly better than I would have dared to hope for. 'It was of course nice and fantastic, but that's what he has done. In the playoffs he proved to be our sharpest striker and will probably end up as our top scorer. 'I didn't see it coming, but hats off to Kvistgaarden. He's taken the Superliga by storm. He works really hard and is a tough striker to play against defenders. 'He has good finishing skills and a good head game, and we actually knew that. But he's taken the step very quickly and he's done it well. It's great.' Former Brondby star David Boysen had a trial at Celtic as a kid but didn't make the cut. But he's convinced Kvistgaarden has what it takes to reach the very top. He said: 'He has everything that is needed – hard work, deep running, determination and hunger. He keeps going and going, and he tops that off by scoring the goals that a striker should score. 'Now he is among the top scorers, and if he can continue with that, it will be top level, and he has so many skills." It's no surprise Celtic are in the hunt – but they will need to come up with the right number.
Daily Record
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Mathias Kvistgaarden waves Brondby farewell but Celtic hit with transfer blow as boss throws spanner in works
The striker appears to have played his last game for the Danish club, who finished third in the Superliga Mathias Kvistgaarden appeared to bid an emotional farewell to Brondby fans as the curtain fell on the Danish Superliga on Sunday night. The in-demand striker has been a long-term target for Brendan Rodgers and Celtic are expected to reignite their interest this summer. But the Scottish champions could face intense interest from other European clubs, with Kvistgaarden all but confirming he'll be leaving his beloved Brondby. The Denmark Under-21 international was given an incredible send off on Sunday night as Brondby ran out 3-2 winners away to AGF. Footage shared online captured supporters singing the homegrown star's name and unveiling a massive banner of the 23-year-old as Kvistgaarden showed his appreciation at full-time. And it could be the £11million-rated attacker's final appearance for the club as he looks set to take the next step in his career. However, in a bitter blow to Celtic, boss Benjamin Schmedes believes the 23-goal hitman is destined to play in one of Europe's top five leagues. Schmedes also confirmed that there are currently no offers on the table for Kvistgaarden as he opened the door on a big-money summer exit. He said: "We will look at it when there is something on the table that we can talk about. "We don't have that right now, so we are not saying goodbye to him yet. "We will sit down and look at the season, and then we will see what the transfer window brings. "That applies to Mathias and all the other players. "He is an interesting player for the five major leagues. It is not without reason that he was named player of the year, and there are many things that bigger clubs in the five major leagues could be interested in. "I will answer the phone when they call, and then we will see."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'There aren't many fans who want him to start' - Danish journalist on Rajovic
The debate as to whether allowing Mileta Rajovic to spend the season out on loan was the correct one still goes on – but it seems certain the striker will be back at Watford this summer. The 25-year-old Dane's spell with Brondby in his home country has become less and less successful as the season has ticked by. Third hot favourite for Watford job in one day WO correspondent discusses Hornets on TalkSport Having not scored since February, Rajovic now has five goals in 22 senior outings for Brondby since moving there in August. Four of those five came before the Danish league's winter break, and he has found the net just once in his last 11 outings. Since the Superliga split, with the top six teams playing each other and the bottom six playing each other, Brondby – who were second in the regular season – have played eight games and Rajovic has featured for just 196 minutes. He has started one of the eight fixtures, and come off the bench in six others. The Watford Observer posed questions to Danish journalist Toke Theilade, editor-in-chief at , to get his take on the Rajovic situation. Do you think there is any chance that Brondby might try to re-loan, or even sign, Rajovic? 'It is very low at this point. Reports have emerged that the club has decided to let him go at the end of the season, which makes sense considering how little he's played in the spring." He seemed to play less and less as the season went on - what happened? 'Brøndby cleaned the house at the end of last year. 'The sporting director and head coach that brought Rajovic to the club were both sacked. 'The new head coach Frederik Birk hasn't played him much and prefers faster and more mobile strikers up front. He's simply been used as a late emergency target man. 'This has also been disappointing since he came in on deadline day in August and was thrown into games straight away. 'He was supposed to be better in the spring when he was more accustomed to the system and his teammates, but it hasn't been the case. 'It should be mentioned though that he doesn't suit Brøndby's style well either. 'Birk wants to play possession-based with short passes and few crosses, and Rajovic is obviously best when he receive loads of crosses.' Has the head coach said much about him? 'Not really. The focus has mostly been on Filip Bundgaard instead, who is also not playing a lot. 'Generally, when asked about the players on the bench, Birk refers to the tough competition the offensive players are facing and how they have to work hard to earn playing time.' What do the fans think of him? 'He was very popular in the beginning. 'His past at the academy at the club suited the love for the local talents, and he started greatly. He had an immediate impact with four goals in his first five matches and impressed with his nose for goals. 'However, as we have seen more of him, the opinion has dipped a bit about him as a player. 'There aren't many fans who want him to start, and it is recognized that we are a better team when selecting our other options. 'Regardless, he is still a popular guy due to his past, and he is appreciated for his goals. 'Ultimately, this has been a season to forget for Brøndby as the club will finish without titles yet again. There haven't been many positive stories this season, so generally the mood among the fans is poor at the moment.' Having seen him for a season, what do you think Rajovic's strengths are? 'He is definitely lethal in the box. His instincts are great, and his finishing is at a high level. 'You can easily see that he has a nose for goal and has good positioning in the penalty box. Also, he is physically strong which is a dangerous weapon on crosses.' And what do you see as his weaknesses? 'To me, it seems like almost anything else is a weakness unfortunately. 'He doesn't contribute much in the build-up play and doesn't link up well with the teammates. For a guy his size, it surprises me that he doesn't win more aerial duels. He also isn't great technically and his lack of pace is also an issue. 'Generally, I think it is a problem how he needs a very specific playing style to be successful. He isn't an agile player that can work in different environments. 'That's also the reason why he has mostly received cameos in the spring, when Brøndby were either chasing goals or defending leads and needed his powers in the air." From what you have seen, could Rajovic score the goals next season to make Watford promotion contenders in the Championship? 'I think Rajovic will score goals anywhere he goes, but I don't see him becoming a regular player for Watford if they want to earn promotion. 'He seems more like a back-up striker to me that you can use for specific situations where his strengths are required.'
New York Times
06-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Kristoffer Olsson on rare brain injury and amnesia: ‘I don't remember my parents and son being there'
'With a strong wolf mentality, you won our hearts. A true warrior from Central Jutland. All the best in the future. Thank you for everything, Kris. The superman of Midtjylland.' Danish champions Midtjylland paid an emotional farewell on Saturday to Sweden midfielder Kristoffer Olsson, who was in the squad that won the club's first Superliga trophy in 2015 and, against all odds, carried their fourth onto the pitch on the final day of last season. Advertisement That the 29-year-old was present, let alone capable of leading the celebrations, was nothing short of miraculous. On February 20 last year, Olsson was found unconscious in his home in Herning, Denmark, while his parents and four-year-old son, Jamie, were visiting from Norrkoping, Sweden. He was taken to Aarhus University Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator and subsequently diagnosed with an acute brain illness. An extremely rare inflammatory condition in his blood vessels caused several blood clots to form on both sides of his head, placing him in a coma and robbing him of the ability to speak, walk and eat. His family and two of Midtjylland's executives were gathered around his bed for the first week as they watched Olsson battle for his life. He survived and has defied all expectations and timelines since. After seven weeks, he regained his motor function and verbal abilities. After 13 weeks, he hauled the cartoonishly large league trophy to the podium. After six months, he was released home and, after seven months, he was back training. Thirteen months on from that traumatic day, he has chosen to exit his contract and return to Allsvenskan club IFK Norrkoping, whose academy he played for from 11 until Arsene Wenger signed him for Arsenal as a 16-year-old, in pursuit of a return to competitive football. It is the same determination and fortitude that sees Olsson alive today and able to recount, what he can, of an illness that threatened his life and left a two-month black hole. Here, he tells The Athletic his story. 'I don't remember anything (of that day),' Olsson says from the kitchen counter of the house at which he fell ill. 'The first thing I remember after (the illness struck) is in April.' Olsson relies on pictures from his phone to get a sense of the days and weeks that preceded his sickness. In February 2024, Denmark's Superliga season was resuming after its winter break, so Olsson used a few days' rest to visit his son, who lives with his ex-partner in Norrkoping, the city where he grew up. His son was sick but so, too, was Olsson and he realises retrospectively that he looked ill in the pictures of them together. Advertisement He returned to training the next week but he had to pull out of a session during the warm-up and missed the 1-0 defeat against Brondby on February 18. His parents, Lena and Mats, arrived from Norrkoping with his son the night he fell ill. 'My parents have told me I was tired and said I had to sleep,' he says. 'I went to bed but after one or two hours, I got up and was sleeping on the sofa. They said maybe it was better to sleep in the bed so I went. Jamie was sleeping with them but they woke up and came in my room around 5am. 'They saw I had vomited everywhere in the room and all over myself. They hadn't heard anything. They were like, 'Hello Kris, hello' (slapping his face). My heart was beating but I was just lying there with my eyes closed.' An ambulance arrived and took Olsson to the hospital in Aarhus, around 50 miles east of Herning, with his father in tow, while his mum protected his son from reality by saying his father had a bad stomach. 'I don't remember that my parents and my son were here but I was lucky that they were. No one at the club would have missed me the day after, as we were off,' says Olsson. Midtjylland broke the news to the squad and club staff a week before a crucial match against Aarhus on February 25. They then released a statement confirming his condition the following week, ruling out self-harm as the cause of his absence after speculation mounted. After a week, Olsson woke up and slowly regained consciousness but it was unclear what quality of life he would return to. After almost a month, he was slowly taken off ventilation and moved to the nearby Hammel Neurocentre, on the outskirts of Aarhus, which specialises in advanced rehabilitation of neurological disorders. He did not require surgery but underwent extensive rehab to regain his motor and verbal functions. He required extensive support to walk at first, but by April 10, he was back on his feet. It is an experience he only understands through pictures and his parents' notes, which he read again this week and found the entry 'bloodproppar i hjarnan' — 'blood clots in the brain'. He sometimes has to pause his narration to piece together the timeline. 'They told my parents to keep a diary so they could write things for themselves, but then so I could read it. I can look back at it. It was a big thing for them when I moved my finger for the first time. It is crazy. They haven't properly told me (how scared they were) maybe to protect my feelings but I have understood that.' Advertisement Olsson had to comprehend the initial shock of waking to discover that instead of training for a title run-in, he was having to rebuild his body. 'I was not there mentally. When I woke up, I told them, 'Of course I can walk',' he says. 'In the beginning, every night I was thinking, 'This is just a nightmare, I hope I wake up from this'. I went to bed but the next day (I realised) it was not a nightmare. Then the same thing the next day.' He had trouble understanding the passage of time and comprehending what he had been through for the first two months. Doctors told him it could take patients years to recover, but his fitness levels gave him a better chance of healing quicker. In a way, amnesia has shielded him from some of the distress as he is oblivious to how grave his situation appeared in the weeks he was supported by a ventilator. That was how his sister placated his loss of memory but it was also the moment it dawned on him how painful it must have been for his loved ones to see him comatose, particularly his son, who was kept from the hospital until Olsson was in a better condition. 'When I saw him (his son) the first time after everything, it was probably one of the best hugs I have ever had. I was not 100 per cent in my head and body, so I couldn't hold him as I didn't want to drop him. I did some video calls with him and he was saying, 'Dad, are you good now in your stomach?'. 'Maybe when he is 13 or 14, he will find out what happened and then I will talk and tell him everything about it.' Olsson returned home in August and gradually returned to training, splitting three days at a rehab facility and two days at Midtjylland for the rest of 2024. A post shared by Kristoffer Olsson (@krisolsson95) His illness was a shock to his team-mates but the club's director of football, Peter Sand, says they used Olsson's fighting spirit as a source of motivation in the final few months of the season. Minutes before a game away to Copenhagen in May, manager Thomas Thomasberg showed the players a video from Olsson. It fuelled a seismic 2-1 victory and was so moving that it is still talked about as one of the defining moments of the season. Advertisement The crowning moment came on May 26 when Olsson arrived in a golf buggy, waving his scarf around his head after a dramatic final day of the season saw them pip Brondby to the title by a single point. He was able to deliver the silverware and hoist it aloft alongside former Brentford defender Henrik Dalsgaard. 'It's such an inspiring story how Kristoffer has fought his way back,' says Sand. Doctors have given him the all-clear to continue playing after reviewing recent brain scans, though he did have one scare at the start of the year. 'I came home and felt tired after one of our (fitness) tests,' Olsson says. 'I went to bed but then I needed to vomit and (the memory of that day) came back. That is the one and only time. 'I called straight away and Kristian Nielsen (Midtjylland vice director of football) came and picked me up. We (visited the specialists) and they could see there was no problem. When they said that, I felt free in my head the next morning. I have learned now that if I don't feel 100 per cent in my head or body, I'm not going to train.' Cognitively, Olsson feels he is back to normal but regaining his sharpness is an ongoing process. 'Physically, I had some problems. When I first trained, if I was running and someone pushed me a little, I fell down, so I worked a lot on my balance and core.' Doctors told him the condition tends to affect the extremities of one's body but Olsson considers himself fortunate. 'My little finger on my right hand,' he says, laughing about how it manifests. 'Better that it is in my fingers than toes because imagine the kicks in football. And it was also lucky it was my right hand as I'm left-handed.' Olsson rejoined the squad in January and hoped for a return to competitive action on the anniversary of his illness, but that date passed. He was informed before the latest international break that he would not be part of the Sweden squad. 'I feel better each week and am taking it step by step but then I'm not allowed to train with the team,' he says. 'So I need to find somewhere to train as being in the gym and training myself all the time is not football.' Advertisement Olsson was not planning on leaving Midtjylland. His girlfriend, Alice, whom he met in 2023 before his illness but has come into his life fully since October, had just moved to Herning to be with him last month. But he and Midtjylland came to an agreement that allows him to realise his ambition of a comeback near his family. With 47 caps for Sweden, the queue of interested clubs from his homeland was lengthy. However, his last competitive game came in December 2023 and there were obvious concerns about his health and his conditioning. FC Midtjylland og Kristoffer Olsson har i gensidig forståelse ophævet kontrakten, så han kan vende hjem til Norrköping og tage næste skridt i sin rejse tilbage mod livet som fodboldspiller. 🇩🇰 🇬🇧 — FC Midtjylland (@fcmidtjylland) March 29, 2025 'When people say, 'Can he play football again?', maybe, but maybe not at the same level. 'Can he run again?'. Maybe, but maybe not as fast as before',' says Olsson. 'My strength tests three weeks ago are better than they were before I got sick and the running is also kind of similar. 'The football, I've got it. Now it is important I get in my head that my brain is going to work faster. That is why I am going to train with Norrkoping. I need to get that feeling of someone running to press me. I'm not going to put pressure on myself but just give me a few weeks because the touch, technically, I have.' Olsson will start training with Norrkoping without a salary in the hope of earning a contract in the summer but patience has never been Olsson's strongest virtue. He first joined Midtylland on loan in 2014 and his form earned him a senior international call-up in January 2015. However, he fractured his fibula in his first training for Sweden and was out for three months — but he took the cast off his leg quicker than advised. It did not stop him from going on to win the league title and the European Under-21 Championship with Sweden later that year. Advertisement Olsson had moved to Arsenal in 2011 as a promising youngster and before spells in Sweden with AIK, Russia with Krasnodar and Belgium with Anderlecht. He became a fixture of Sweden's midfield from 2019 and played every game in their run to the last 16 of Euro 2020. He returned to Midtjylland in 2022. 'I was so lucky that when I got sick, I was here at a club who knows me and with so many good hospitals around us. It was good timing, if it can be good timing. 'Midtjylland means a lot to me and as you can see from the pictures and the supporters, they have this song that 'everyone loves Kris' in Midtjylland and I can feel that. When I got sick, they were singing, 'Our Swedish superman'. So, yeah, I am a superman.' The sentiment was made clear at half-time on Saturday during Midtjylland's game against Brondby. Olsson was given a rousing reception as he soaked up a lap of honour 'I wanted to enjoy everything. It was hard because the speaker started talking about one year on. I was taking deep breaths but then I looked around the stadium and even the Brondby fans were standing and applauding. 'It is hard for me to talk about as it is a feeling I have never had before. I have never had a proper goodbye to any club because in football, you pack your bags one day and then you are gone tomorrow. It is an emotional feeling but also a really good feeling because when something ends, something new starts.' Olsson flew home on Tuesday to start a new chapter of his life, living in the same city as his son, girlfriend and parents, who he has been away from since he left for London as a boy. A post shared by Kristoffer Olsson (@krisolsson95) 'Football has been everything for me but now it's like how it should be,' he says. 'It's about life. I have got my life back and now life is better than it was before. I love Jamie so much and it is going to be fantastic to be close to him. 'I am looking forward to that first game. Not only the first pass or shot, it is the thing when you are in the changing room with your team-mates ready to get going. I miss that feeling before you go in the tunnel. I miss it so much. Advertisement 'My dream is to be a better player than before I got sick. I will be a better version of myself mentally as well as a footballer.' Other players may have taken such a health scare as a sign to call time on their careers. Olsson, who turns 30 at the end of June, sees it differently. '(The) type of player (I am) gets better because you become cleverer with experience. I can at least play 10 years more.' Rather than representing the end, could this illness mark the halfway point of his career and see him return in 'superman' form? 'Exactly,' smiles Olsson.
