Bröndby IF have surprised many in the Danish Superliga this season and currently sit second with 40 points from 19 matches, two behind leaders FC Midtjylland, who have played a game more. This has been a tremendous improvement by the team so far, having finished sixth last season with just 44 points from 32 matches (regular season and championship round), 15 adrift of eventual winners FC Copenhagen.

Part of the reason for their title charge after a midtable finish last season has been an improved defence, which is backed by the data. Bröndby’s backline is the best in the league, conceding just 17 goals in 19 matches. Their attack has improved substantially as well, and they’re averaging almost two goals a game with 37 so far, only 11 behind their total from last season.

Much of this has been due to internal improvement within the squad. Jesper Sørensen took over as manager in January 2023 and got them seven wins and two draws in 15 matches during the latter stages of last season. After a full pre-season with the squad, Sørensen seems to have got them playing their best football, and this has paid dividends on the pitch.

One aspect that brought Bröndby, who are looking to win their first Superliga title since the 2020/21 season, was the delayed nature of their summer transfer business. They signed no players in June, with a flurry of arrivals in July and August. A similar pattern followed this past winter transfer window as well.

When asked about it in an interview back in August, their sporting director, Carsten V. Jensen, spoke to BOLD about the same and said:

“Of course, you want to bring in a player early and have a squad ready early, but the most important thing is that they are the right players. Bröndby are not first-choice, and then you have to wait [for] the time it takes to get to where we can shoot.” (translated from Danish to English)

While there is still time until the end of the season, this data analysis article aims to provide an analysis of the signings’ statistics in granular detail and weigh up how they have contributed to the team’s charge to the top of the Superliga.

Who were Bröndby’s summer and winter arrivals?

Bröndby had a flurry of summer activity, with a focus on bringing in young players. Right-back Jacob Rasmussen, signed from Fiorentina, was one of their first arrivals, with Transfermarkt stating that he joined on July 14. The 26-year-old was their only signing in July.

Rasmussen was followed by 19-year-old Mateusz Kowalczyk, who joined from LKS Lodz on August 2. Yuito Suzuki, 21, then arrived from J-League outfit Shimizu S-Pulse on August 11. He was followed by 20-year-old forward Justin Che on August 17, 26-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Pentz, loaned in from Bayer Leverkusen on August 18, and 20-year-old Emmanuel Yeboah, signed from CFR Cluj a day later. Veteran right-back Sean Klaiber, 29, was their final arrival of the summer transfer window on September 1, joining from FC Utrecht.

In the winter transfer window, Bröndby made two signings: Jordi Vanlerberghe, 27, from KV Mechelen on January 29 and Filip Bundgaard, 19, from Randers FC on February 1.

As suggested earlier, this follows a trend of the club bringing in players who could help them immediately but also with an eye on the future, as the mean age of these eight signings was only 23.

Only four of these nine players have started a game for Bröndby this season. Che was loaned out to ADO Den Haag almost immediately after his arrival, while Vanlerberghe is currently injured, and Bundgaard has come off the bench twice in the Superliga.

Yeboah played once as a substitute in the Oddset Pokalen, but is yet to receive a league minute despite making the bench thrice. He has primarily represented their youth team. That is also the case for Kowalczyk, though he did receive a minute off the bench in the Superliga and came on as a substitute in two cup games. He has mostly played for Bröndby’s reserves and their U19 outfit.

How have Bröndby’s signings contributed to the team this season?

That visual leads us nicely into this section, evaluating the impact of these new arrivals on Bröndby’s fortunes. As the graph below also shows, four of the summer arrivals have come in and established themselves as starters for the team despite not having the benefit of a pre-season with them. For goalkeeper Pentz, it took all of 10 days between his date of arrival and first start, 16 days for Klaiber and 23 for Rasmussen. Only Suzuki had to bide his time, with 47 days separating his arrival and first start for the team.

The Japanese player has also started just 42.1% of Bröndby’s matches this season, compared to 87.5% for Klaiber, 89.5% for Pentz and 90.9% for Rasmussen.

Given the lack of minutes played among the other four, let’s take a closer look at the quartet who have regularly featured for Bröndby this term.

Jacob Rasmussen

Rasmussen has been crucial in improving a defence that shipped 52 goals in 32 matches last season. This term, he has started 16 of their 19 Superliga matches and all four cup games, missing only one game due to a yellow-card suspension and being named on the bench for the club’s first two outings after his arrival.

As the chart above and stat-pack below show, the Dane has enjoyed a great season so far on the left side of a three-man defence. He has often been partnered by Klaiber (more on him later) and Frederik Alves, while Kevin Tshiembe, Henrich Heggheim, and Rasmus Lauritsen have all received look-ins as well.

Rasmussen’s passing has been a massive asset to the team, moving the ball forward in build-up as he completes 77.1% of his passes to the final third. Additionally, a 72.3% defensive duel success rate also suggests that he is not easy to get past, while he has chipped in with a league goal as well.

Patrick Pentz

Pentz was seemingly brought into Bröndby to take up the role between the sticks, and that’s precisely what he’s done since his arrival. He has started each of their last 14 Superliga matches while playing in three of their four cup outings as well. In those games, he has kept a commendable nine clean sheets and conceded just 14 goals.

While he has benefitted from an improved defensive line, as the stat pack below shows, Pentz has made some fantastic stops. Wyscout suggests that 58.7% of his 2.46 saves per match have been reflex stops. He has saved a staggering 76.88% of the shots he has faced. As his shots faced map below shows, he has had quite a few outstanding moments in goal this season.

Additionally, the Leverkusen loanee’s passing has been fantastic, as he completes nearly 70% of his long passes, allowing Bröndby to build attacks from the back and go over the top or route-1 when necessary.

Sean Klaiber

Klaiber has played in both the centre-back and wing-back positions on the right since joining Bröndby last summer. The former Ajax man arrived only after the club’s first eight Superliga matches and made his first start for them in their 10th game. Since then, he has racked up 11 more league starts while also starting two cup games.

In Klaiber, Bröndby have a versatile player who adds to their potency in attack while helping them defensively. He has scored twice in the league this season and as the stat-pack below shows, has been solid with his passes into the final third and shot assists per game.

Additionally, his numbers in defence mirror Rasmussen’s, displaying his quality on that end as well. As the image below shows, Klaiber has made the right flank his own and has often helped Bröndby win the ball in the middle third, helping kickstart attacks against an unsettled defence. His solidity at the back has been crucial to their improvement in the defence.

Yuito Suzuki

At 22, Suzuki is the youngest among these four players and the only attacker. This season, he has featured as a centre-forward and second striker while also playing off the right wing. He has taken his time to settle in but slowly seems to be picking up momentum.

The Japanese forward made the bench for Bröndby’s second game since his arrival and came on as a substitute in three of their next four matches. He had his breakout moment in their Oddset Pokalen third-round fixture against Hellerup IK, scoring and assisting once apiece in his first start for the club to help them win 3-0.

A month later, he made his first Superliga start for Bröndby, having scored his first league goal for them a few weeks earlier. Just days after that, Suzuki scored again in the cup, helping his side beat Randers FC in the fourth round. He came on as a sub in the first leg of their Oddset Pokalen quarterfinals against Aarhus GF, which they lost 2-0, before starting the return leg and helping the team 2-1. However, Bröndby exited the competition due to a 3-2 defeat on aggregate.

Back in the league, Suzuki has enjoyed a splendid few weeks. He ended 2023 by assisting a goal in his club’s 4-0 hammering of Hvidovre and nabbed the game-winning assist in their first Superliga match of 2024 in February last month, a 1-0 win over title rivals Midtjylland. Last week, he scored in their 3-0 victory over Odense BK to continue his good vein of recent form. Having delivered in both of his starts this year, he will be expected to continue being a part of the XI in the matches ahead.

A key area in which Suzuki has helped Bröndby is in pressing. As the map below shows, he has helped them win the ball in the attacking half and close to their penalty area on multiple occasions. This, along with his goal contributions, should only improve with more playing time in this system.

Conclusion

Bröndby’s transfers for the 2023/24 season have largely been a success despite the club receiving criticism for not signing players sooner in the summer and winter windows. While four of their purchases have played critical roles in the team’s ascent to the top of the Superliga standings, one was loaned out with immediacy, while two other summer signings have not received a look-in in the first team. It is too early to judge the winter arrivals, one of whom is currently injured.

Bröndby seem to have struck a neat balance between fighting for honours in the present while also establishing a foundation for the future by signing a mix of players in and around their peak and youngsters like Suzuki who could be a key player in the seasons ahead. For now, however, the focus will be on winning just a fourth Superliga title in this century.