This week we bring back a classic format, essential to Driblab. An article that will help you discover (or find in depth information) some of the best prospects in Scandinavian football.
This time, we haven’t set an age limit. Instead, we've focused on players who have the potential and are young enough to make the leap to higher-level leagues in a short space of time.
These are five players that you should watch closely.
Markus Karlsson – Hammarby – 2004 (21)
Karlsson’s passing and carrying may not stand out for their elegance, but they do for their effectiveness. The Swedish midfielder’s technique is a bit scrappy, and he doesn’t rely on tricks or feints to hide his intentions. However, he is ideal for bypassing pressure and helping his team progress.
The advantages he gets from using his body — placing it between the ball and the opponent — and the way he uses his arms, make him hard to stop when driving forward. So far in the Allsvenskan, only seven central midfielders improve on his 4.09 progressive carries per game.
As a passer, he mixes security with risk. Nobody matches his 90.4% passing accuracy, and only three central midfielders average more passes per game than Karlsson (54.2). He passes a lot, and passes well.
Key to his passing efficiency are his body orientation when receiving, and the technique he uses to control the ball (which foot he uses to receive, which part of the foot he chooses to make contact with, etc.). No player in the Allsvenskan has attempted more passes under strong pressure than the Swede (424). The second on that list trails him by 66 passes. Karlsson misses only one in every ten of these passes.
However, he is not averse to risk. His teammates hand him the “hot potato” because they trust his ability to receive the ball under pressure, but Karlsson also averages 4.16 line-breaking passes per game, the 10th highest in the league. He knows how to find teammates between the lines.
Bestfor Zeneli – Elfsborg – 2002 (22)
Zeneli is an attacking midfielder who frequently pops up at different parts of the pitch but mainly tends to drift wide. Zeneli prefers to face the game, rather than playing with his back to goal. Unlike Karlsson, who's more involved in the initial phases of play, Zeneli is often tasked with offensive production.
Zeneli averages 0.1 expected assists (excluding set pieces), the 16th best figure among central midfielders in Sweden’s top flight. But he also registers 7.58 defensive actions per game, the 11th best mark in the Allsvenskan among players in his position. This is where his all-round profile comes from.
In wide areas he's a natural dribbler, taking on players in more swiftly than when in central areas. Most of his danger comes from the left-hand side of the attack. His 2.35 chances created per game represent the highest figure in the league.
His physical profile is also promising. He covers plenty of ground. That allows him to appear all over the pitch. Only seven players run more than his 11.7 km per game. Moreover, his frequent high-intensity efforts explain why he seems to be everywhere on the pitch during games.
Franculino Djú – FC Midtjylland – 2004 (21)
Even though the Superligaen has just reached its fifth gameweek, we couldn't wait. We needed to talk about Franculino Djú. Be aware of him.
Djú is the striker of the moment in Scandinavia. Partly because he does a bit of everything.
◎ He shoots a lot (2.86 shots per game, 5th best among strikers in the Danish league last season)...
◎ ...because he constantly receives the ball in the box (6.73 touches in the opposition box, 3rd best).
◎ He scores so often (11 in 28 matches last season)...
◎ ...because he generates plenty of threat (0.38 expected goals per game, 8th best).
In the five league matches so far, Franculino Djú has already scored 6 goals from 2.8 xG. If we combine the last two seasons, he overperformed his expected goals by 5.7.
Outside of his finishing, Djú also contributes to his team. Last season, he averaged the 5th most line-breaking passes per game (2.24). In fact, 13.1% of his passes were of this type.
He has shown promising ability to combine in tight areas: mainly in the edge of the box, where space is reduced.
.png)
Clement Bischoff – Brøndby IF – 2005 (19)
Bischoff stood out at last summer’s U21 Euros for Denmark, where his teammate Noah Nartey — who could easily have made this list as well — also featured. He was Denmark's youngest player in the squad.
Bischoff is a medium-sized winger with a strong upper body that gives him explosive first steps. Nonetheless, Bischoff possess enough technical solutions to make his dribbling truly effective. No winger in the 2024/25 Superliga averaged more progressive carries per game than his 4.82. This season, in 379 minutes played so far, he is averaging 5.94.
Beyond progressing play, he also helps Brøndby settle in the opposition half with his 18.3 deep progressions (every time he carries the ball into the final fifth of the pitch).
Once he reaches those advanced areas, Bischoff connects with teammates with ease. He ranked 5th among wingers in chances created and key passes per game. This is where he's at his best. His passing ability is sets him apart from classic ball-carrying wingers. He can unlock the opponent's structure by passing the ball. With our 'Arrigo' metrics we learn that Bischoff ranks much higher in bypassed players via passes than via carries..
In short: Bischoff is the prototype of an attacker who can command a big transfer fee. A winger with powerful ball carrying and excelent composure when it comes to finding teammates. And what happens if you add an outstanding physical profile to that mix?
Well, you get a pressing winger, a profile in demand. His OutPlay Metrics radar shows that Bischoff was the 4th winger least bypassed by opposition passes per game, and the 3rd least bypassed by opposition carries. His capacity to repeat high-intensity efforts (48.6 high-speed runs per game) means he is almost always engaged and rarely switched off or beaten when the action comes near him.
On top of that, Bischoff recorded the highest number of sprints per game among Superliga wingers (24.3), and covered the greatest sprinting distance (643.7 meters per game at sprinting speed). This meant that 6.31% of his total distance covered per game came at sprinting pace — the highest proportion among his peers.
Matias Siltanen – Djurgården – 2007 (18)
Siltanen is a holding midfielder who directs and organizes play at just 18 years old. In his first Allsvenskan season, he has already played more than 1,700 minutes.
The Finn combines three key qualities for his position: passing security, risk tolerance, and tackling ability.
In the Swedish league, only ten central midfielders have a better passing accuracy rate. Siltanen completes nearly 9 out of 10 passes. Only six average more progressive passes than the Finn (12.3). He also understands that a player in his role must find teammates between the lines. And he has the ability to do so, as shown by his 4.06 line-breaking passes per game, the 12th best figure among midfielders in the league.
Under pressure, he responds well. He completes 89.9% of his pressured passes, although that rate drops to 84.7% under heavy pressure.
Defensively, he is consistent. He ranks in the top 30% of midfielders for tackles per game (2.89), and he does so with great success (77.6% tackle success rate). He doesn’t have huge defensive volume because his team dominates possession in the Swedish league, but his 5.15 defensive actions per game are around average.
He is a player with high potential, but still needs this season and probably another one in Sweden before considering a step up.
