Kamaldeen is a player who must be allowed to express himself – FC Nordsjælland coach

It has been in the cards that Kamaldeen Sulemana wanted to break the transfer record in Danish football, and that was exactly how it went.

Last week, FC Nordsjælland sold the Ghanaian to Rennes for 150 million kroner, and it was a transfer to the history books. It was also a good day for everyone who cares about the bottom line in the Farum club’s accounts.

For the FC Nordsjælland team itself, it is of course a weakness to lose their best player, but as you know, nothing is so bad that it is not good for anything. It is also with the glasses that head coach Flemming Pedersen looks at the sale of Kamaldeen Sulemana.

“It was with Kamaldeen that he sucked the balls to him, and it was for better or worse. On evil, I mean the game can go too slow if the same player gets involved too much. Therefore, we should be able to play even faster now and get even better relationships on the team,” says Flemming Pedersen to tipsbladet.dk.

The Ghanaian was not blind to that either.

“I asked Kamaldeen after a match against SønderjyskE last season, where he was quarantined, whether he thought we played better or worse without him on the team. “I think we played better without me,” he replied. That says a lot about “Kamal”. He could see from the outside that there was more interaction without him.

“Kamaldeen is a player who must be allowed to express himself, and therefore he must have the ball. When he then has the ball, we must say that he does not pass it that much either. Either he does something that succeeds or he loses the ball,” says the FCN coach.

Did you adapt the team to Kamaldeen?

“Yes, something, but we do it with all our players, so they look as good as possible,”

You can’t do that with all your players, can you?

“No, not with everyone. It will always go beyond anyone. Therefore, it is the case that those with the greatest potential get an advantage. It is very normal in many places. It is only in Scandinavia that we have that approach, that hard work is crucial and that no one should have too much freedom. We live in that culture here, and I do not want to do away with it, but we also need to look at how we can bring out the strengths of the players with the greatest potential,” says Flemming Pedersen.

In addition to Kamaldeen Sulemana, FC Nordsjælland has also said goodbye to Johan Djourou and Ulrik Yttergård Jenssen, but the club has not brought in new players. That would be an unthinkable scenario in most other clubs, but in FCN they would rather patch the gaps with their own talents.

Therefore, it is not at all certain that FC Nordsjælland will buy new players this summer.

“Immediately we do not need it, but we are always on the market. Not as much as others, but we are there and we are always looking at young, talented players. If we think we are just missing one, we strike, as we did with both Kian Hansen and Johan Djourou,” says Flemming Pedersen.

He states that more profiles can be sold.

“It could easily be thought. Once the window gets going and the top clubs have done their thing, it can start dripping down the system. We know that there is a lot of focus on FC Nordsjælland from many clubs in Europe, and then we have to see what happens. That is the premise of being a coach in FC Nordsjælland. And we look forward to every time we send a player on,”

The goal is top six

FC Nordsjælland has managed to qualify for the championship game in all seasons since it was introduced, and despite the sale of Kamaldeen Sulemana, the ambitions are the same.

“The goal is to get in the top six, it is the same as always, and goals must be realistic. We think it is realistic that we can get in the top six, and then we have to look along the way. We have great respect for the Super League and especially this year – I think it will be more equal than it has ever been before,” says Flemming Pedersen.

He emphasizes that FC Nordsjælland dreams of challenging FC Copenhagen, FC Midtjylland and Brøndby IF, but the club knows well that it is not possible to bite spoons with them financially.

Therefore, they have to do it in a different way.

“The players we pick up from our academies need to be even better. It’s with the long light on, and it may take the time it takes, but we’ve never had a wider squad than we have this season, and that’s a good sign. That means better and better players are coming up,”

Do you even think that it is possible to challenge Brøndby, FCK and FCM in that way?

“It depends on how much the three clubs put in, so it’s hard to say, but we work with the intention that we with our own players should get in the top three in the Super League. Every time we are in the top six, we look towards the top three, because we want to go back and play European matches,” the FC Nordsjælland coach concludes.

The Farum club lost 1-2 to Viborg FF in the Superliga premiere. On Sunday, a home game against AGF awaits.