AZ strengthened itself on Friday with Jens Odgaard. The Alkmaarders are reportedly paying 4 million euros for the Danish striker, which is the highest transfer fee in club history in fifteen years.
The 23-year-old Odgaard signs for five years in Alkmaar and comes from the Italian Sassuolo, which leased him to RKC Waalwijk last season. He impressed the Brabant with eleven goals in 33 league matches. In the 2019/2020 season he played temporarily at sc Heerenveen.
With a transfer fee of reportedly 4 million euros, Odgaard will become AZ’s fifth most expensive player of all time. Only for Mounir El Hamdaoui (7 million euros, 2007), Graziano Pellè (6 million euros, 2007), Ari (5 million euros, 2007) and Mousa Dembélé (5 million euros, 2006) did the Alkmaarders pay more money.
“We are very happy with this,” said director of football affairs Max Huiberts. “We have seen in recent years that he can play in several positions. We think he fits well here because he has proven that he can easily score goals. In addition, he is an intelligent player, good in small space and has a good shot in his left leg.”
Odgaard is happy with his transfer to Alkmaar. “AZ is a big club in the Netherlands and therefore also for me. This is a big step for me and one in the right direction. I can’t wait to start the Eredivisie and the European competitions.”
Odgaard is the third summer reinforcement for AZ. Previously, the disappointing number five of last season captured defender Mees de Wit (PEC Zwolle) and Swedish attacker Mayckel Lahdo (Hammarby IF). The team of trainer Pascal Jansen started preparing for the new season on Tuesday.
Most expensive AZ players in history
- 1. Mounir El Hamdaoui – 7 million euros (2007)
- 2. Graziano Pellè – 6 million euros (2007)
- 3. Ari – 5 million euros (2007)
- 3. Mousa Dembele – 5 million euros (2006)
- 5. Jens Odgaard – 4 million euros (2022)
- 5. Héctor Moreno – 4 million euros (2008)