Brabrand IF sporting director Andreas Rasch-Christensen has given the inside story of their move to sign Lucas Nygaard on loan from Arsenal this summer.
Arsenal didn’t loan out many youth players this summer, but one of them was goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard, who joined Danish 2nd division (third-tier) side Brabrand IF.
Danish outlet Bold.dk spoke to Brabrand’s sporting director Andreas Rasch-Christensen about the transfer, giving some insights into the process of securing a loan with a top club like Arsenal.
“It was special that it was Arsenal,” Rasch-Christensen said. “It was fun to get an email where Per Mertesacker was CC’d. A man my age can remember when he was playing.”
Rasch-Christensen clarified that most of the transfer negotiations were held with Sam Hayball, Arsenal’s pathway and loans manager. The eventual deal reportedly included Arsenal funding two extra goalkeeper training sessions for Brabrand every week.
But perhaps the key driving force behind the transfer was Nygaard’s own preference to play in Denmark again.
“It came about when Lucas himself showed interest in returning home to Danish senior football,” Rasch-Christensen confirmed. “We established contact with Arsenal, where we wrote together over WhatsApp, Sam Hayball and me.
“There was a lot of openness that Lucas also had other options. We asked them if Lucas could come to a trial training session with us, which they didn’t want.
“Instead, they asked if we wanted to visit them, and we did so with two men from our coaching staff.
“They spent a few days with Lucas. It’s hard to judge everything from video footage. This way we could get to know Lucas better.”
For Brabrand, negotiating with a major club like Arsenal was a huge deal, and Rasch-Christensen admitted they were – and are – well aware of that.
“It’s clear that their organization is larger. I don’t think the first thing Sam thought about in the morning was the negotiations with us.
“But in the end, the dialogue was at a very calm level, and it was the same dialogue that we would have with other clubs at a lower level.
“I can understand that the transfer is curious in headline form, but if you dig a little deeper, it is a promising youth goalkeeper who has not yet tried his hand at senior football, and a Danish 2nd division club. It may not be a completely unfair match.”
The Brabrand sporting director concluded that Nygaard “has had a promising start, and he is a good keeper”. The 19-year-old is yet to make his debut for Brabrand, featuring on the bench in their matches so far, but it’s surely only a matter of time until he gets his chance.