The merits that attracted Everton to Arsenal's Christian Norgaard have already been outlined by his former Brentford boss Thomas Frank
With Everton preparing to announce Christian Norgaard as their latest signing, comments made by his compatriot and former Brentford boss Thomas Frank highlight why the Blues are picking up an ideal ‘number six.’
The ECHO understands the 32-year-old underwent a medical on Tuesday with Everton now completing the finishing touches to his £7million move.
Joining from Fiorentina in 2019 for an undisclosed fee understood to be £2.8million, Norgaard, who was reuniting with his former Denmark youth and Brondby coach Frank, said he wanted to “fall in love with football again,” after just six appearances for the Tuscan outfit.
In 2021, the Copenhagen-born player was part of the Bees squad that won promotion to the Premier League for the first time and a return to the top flight following a 74-year absence.
Named Brentford club captain in 2023, Norgaard totalled 196 appearances for the west London outfit and scored 13 goals. On the midfielder penning what proved to be his final contract with Brentford on March 29 last year, Frank, who would ultimately also head to the north of the capital that summer, being appointed by Tottenham Hotspur ahead of Norgaard joining rivals Arsenal, made the following declaration.
He said: “This new contract was a no-brainer for us and Christian. Christian has been an integral part of the fantastic journey we have been on these past six years. He is our club captain and one of our most important players.
“His ability to sense danger and make interceptions is at an extraordinarily high level, as is his ability to play forward on the first or second touch. And he has picked up his goal threat this season.
“The first time I coached Christian, he was a no.10; now he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League.
“I’m very happy. Hopefully we can continue to be successful together with Christian leading the team.”