Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has explained why the club made the unexpected decision to sell former Arsenal youth striker Nikolaj Moller earlier this month.
Arsenal academy striker Nikolaj Moller left the club for FC St. Gallen in 2023, but he returned to the United Kingdom last summer, signing on a permanent deal with Dundee United in Scotland.
20 appearances later, Moller was on the move again last week, signing for Norwegian top-flight side Sandefjord. The fee was reported to be in the region of £700,000, plus add-ons.
Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has since explained the transfer, admitting it wasn’t a sale they’d been planning or expecting to make.
“The (Nikolaj) Moller transfer was a bit out of the blue,” Goodwin conceded. “We hadn’t really intended on anybody going out at that point.
“But it was a substantial offer put on the table for a player that we signed for nothing in the summer.
“We’ve got a player trading model that we’re trying to implement, and I think that’s a great bit of business from the club.
“It weakens us slightly at the top end of the pitch, in terms of the options that we have available to us – but it’ll certainly give more opportunities now to young Owen Stirton.”
Moller scored one goal and assisted two more for Dundee United, and he’ll now have a bit of a break before Sandefjord return to competitive action on March 15th.
The 23-year-old striker is still yet to match the form he showed with the Arsenal u23s in the senior game. The player notched 10 goals and assists in 18 Premier League 2 appearances, but he’s yet to hit double figures for goal contributions with any of his subsequent clubs.
The former Sweden u20 international will hope his three-year deal in Norway allows him to properly find his feet in the professional game now.