Benjamin Nygren

So good to have a dynamic threat in the midfield

Looks box to box to me.. don't want to get too carried away but you can see why Genk tried to get him in so young

 

We seem to be a lot quicker when moving the ball when he's in there than Engels. Thought he was superb last night

 

They are very different players despite playing the same position.

Nygren is much more like a direct Matt O’Riley replacement, his strength is his game intelligence and strong left foot. We haven’t seen much of the goal threat he carries yet but I suspect once he gets fully integrated we will see a lot of third man runs and him getting into shooting positions in and around the edge of the box.

Engels isn’t as refined as Nygren or O’Riley, he has a lot of potential but for me the main thing he needs to do is tidy up those slack moments in possession whether it’s just overrunning the ball when trying to shield it or leaving little layoffs short for team mates. One thing I would say in preseason is he is trying to be more physical in his approach, it worked well for our second goal last night where he stripped the Sporting player off the ball and got the ball forward directly to Kenny. Interestingly I would say Engels strength is his directness but it is also probably the reason he has those slack moments when he rushes things. He is always trying to do things very quickly. I also think his passing range of his right foot particularly from deep is underrated but it is best used in transition to catch teams off guard.

Again he isn’t really suited to the challenges we face domestically where Nygren is a better fit.

 

I even thought defensively he was much better than I expected … pressed the opposition really well and was actually unlucky the ref gave a foul for a few times he won it off them.

 

Benjamin Nygren is undoubtedly Celtic’s most high-profile transfer this summer.

Capped by Sweden, Nygren is highly-rated by Celtic star Viljami Sinisalo after the goalkeeper said he was ‘one of the best in the world’ when he faced him at just 17 years old.



Celtic paid around £1.7m for Nygren as Brendan Rodgers looked to strengthen his attacking options this summer.

The signing was helped, however, with an agreement the Swede had with FC Nordsjælland as Anthony Joseph shares what sources at the Danish club told him about the transfer to Celtic.


Nygren has already impressed at Celtic in the 3-2 defeat to Portuguese minnows Estrela da Amadora.


With another pre-season fixture against Sporting Lisbon, Celtic fans will get another look at the new signing tonight.

But it could have been so different for Nygren if he did not have an agreement with Nordsjælland that allowed the Celtic move to happen with ease.

Joseph told Off The Underside, “Talking of gentleman’s agreements, Nordsjælland had that with Benjamin Nygren


He was in the last six months of his contract and I was speaking to sources at Nordsjælland who said, ‘Yeah, we have a gentleman’s agreement with him.

‘He came for three years. He’s on a three-year contract and he will stay for three years. We won’t try to offer him a new contract.

‘He can go and we think it’s so beneficial to have him playing for us that we will allow him to pick his club and move on whenever he wants to

We won’t try and negotiate a new contract.'”

At 24, Nygren is starting to mature into an effective attacker. With 196 career appearances, the Swede has garnered plenty of experience on the pitch.

But it’s his goal contributions over these appearances that will have Celtic fans feeling excited about their new arrival and the impact he can make


With the talent Celtic have that Nygren could bounce off and the amount of possession and dominance the Parkhead club have, it’s frightening to consider just how much of an impact the winger could have in Scotland next season.

 

Was flying last night during game what we thinking then, is he a 8 or 10 as brendan suggested rather than a winger?

 

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Benjamin Nygrenas a brilliant bargain buy and tipped the Swede to become a Celtic star.


The playmaker wowed Hoops fans in Wednesday night’s friendly win against Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.


And Rodgers is convinced there is more to come from the 24-year-old this coming season




Nygren landed in a cut-price £1.7million deal and the Parkhead gaffer reckons his value has already shot up. Rodgers is determined to help the attacking midfielder develop and become a smash-hit for Celts.

The Hoops boss said: “I’m really excited about him. He’s a talent but it’s about how these boys adapt to the pressure of being at Celtic. So far he has done very well.

“He moves so well. He’s fluid, he can play, one or two touches.


I want to improve the intensity of his pressing but that will come. He covers the ground so easily. He can take the ball up the pitch and he has a lovely, deft pass on him.

“He’s a young player but he’s also a leader. He’s got a profile, he’s got authority. He was obviously captain for his former club so has great leadership qualities.

“He was obviously coming to the end of his contract and we were looking to maximise the value, so he’s clearly worth a lot more than that.”


Nygren impressed against Sporting – along with several other star men, including Reo Hatate and Kieran Tierney.

Rodgers was delighted with the club’s Portuguese camp and he’s looking to step up another level against Newcastle United at Celtic Park this weekend


He said: “The combination between the midfield three was very good the other night.

“There was Cal as the playmaker, with his vision.

“Reo further up the pitch and then Benjamin, who was moving so well and getting into positions where you can see he has the ability to score goals.