The most expensive Danish Superliga to Premier League signings ranked after Franculino record sale news
Premier League sides have a long history of recruiting players from the Danish Superliga and another could soon be set to arrive at West Ham.
West Ham are eyeing a January move for Midtjylland forward Franculino Dju, who has 17 goals in 18 appearances across league and European games this season.
Everton have been linked to Franculino in the past, and new reports state that any club that wants to sign him will have to submit a Danish-record fee, which would need to exceed £22million plus £4million in add-ons.
That is a lot of money for a player unproven in one of Europe’s top five leagues, and so Football Insider have looked at the top five exports from the Superliga to the Premier League in terms of fees spent, and ranked them from worst to best.
5. Andreas Cornelius to Cardiff City – £11m
Andreas Cornelius is the third-most expensive on this list and pretty clearly the worst buy, considering his complete lack of impact at Cardiff and context around his move.
The Dane joined a newly-promoted Bluebirds side in 2013 from FC Copenhagen for a pretty hefty fee, yet failed to score in his six months at the club and made just 11 appearances before pretty swiftly returning to his former side in January 2014.
4. Ibrahim Osman to Brighton – £16m
Ibrahim Osman is still a Brighton player right now after his £16m move from Nordsjælland was completed in February 2024, but is yet to even play a game for their first-team as he gains experience out on loan.
The 20-year-old forward played 32 times for Feyenoord during a spell there last term, and is currently featuring for Ligue 1 side Auxerre where he has two assists in 11 games up to now.
He has obviously not made any kind of impact on the Seagulls, but could still prove to be a wise buy in the years to come considering their impressive scouting record.
3. Victor Kristiansen to Leicester City – £17m
Victor Kristiansen joined Leicester from Copenhagen in January 2023 to become the most expensive Superliga player ever at that point in time.
He was pretty impressive in his first-half season at the club despite relegation, then did well on loan at Bologna in 2023-24 before an ineffective showing upon his return to the East Midlands last season.
The Dane was linked to Nottingham Forest [Leicester Mercury] in the summer but a move never happened, and he remains a Leicester player right now amid ongoing injury issues at the start of this campaign.
2. Frank Onyeka to Brentford – £8.5m
Brentford have a strong connection to Denmark with many players and Thomas Frank coming from there in years gone by, and Frank Onyeka is the player who they have spent the most money on from the country as of today.
The Nigeria international has been a key rotation option for the Bees since he joined from Midtjylland in 2021, with 87 appearances up to now.
He has been a shrewd pick-up for such a low fee and is a clear sign that the league does produce some quality players who can make an impact in English football.
1. Simon Adingra to Brighton – £8m
The best of the most expensive signings from the Superliga has been Simon Adingra after he moved to Brighton from Nordsjælland for £8m in 2022.
He started making waves in their first-team a year later as he registered seven goals and three assists in 40 appearances and then notched five goals and two assists in 33 games last term.
The Ivorian was a real livewire for the Seagulls, and Adingra joined Sunderland for an initial £21m in the summer to make them a tidy profit on a player who contributed a lot in his two seasons in the senior set-up.