Danish Men’s league: The 5 best signings of the season

The new season of the Danish Men’s League is approaching, and GoHandball’s reporter Ola Selby has ranked the league’s five best signings.

Here are the top transfers this year:

1. Juri Knorr, to Aalborg from Barcelona
He may have had a couple of tougher seasons behind him, where at times – especially in the national team – he almost hurt the team more than he helped it. But at his best, Juri Knorr is still one of the best players in the world. And the fact that a German world star chooses to play in the Danish league signals some sort of shift in world handball. Also keep in mind that Knorr looked much more like his old self again after the World Championship break.

2. Óli Mittún, to GOG from IK Sävehof
After watching Mittún for several seasons in the admittedly rather weak Swedish league, I can say with full confidence that this is going to be a world-class player. Perhaps even more prominent than his cousin Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu at THW Kiel. Mittún may lack a bit of Skipagötu’s playmaking vision, though he has plenty of that as well, but he is even more of a goalscorer than Elias. He could make a similar journey to Tobias Gröndahl, with just one season in Denmark before moving on to a bigger club.

3. Hampus Wanne, to HØJ from Barcelona
Wanne is not quite as good now as he was a few seasons ago, but he is still one of the best left wings in the world. Moving from the mega-club Barcelona to, at least so far, the “small” HØJ is a huge shift. Wanne replaces Emil Mellegård at the position, and my feeling is that the left wing will score heavily this year.

4. Mads Mensah, to Skjern from SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Mensah may not be quite as sharp as he once was, but he is still a player who will be among the best in the league. Explosive, with a strong shot, great game sense, and an underrated defensive game, he will mean a lot to a Skjern side that lost star Noah Gaudin to PSG.

5. Michael Damgaard, to HØJ from Magdeburg
Yes, there is room for yet another HØJ signing on this list. In fact, had I made a top ten, as many as four of their new players could have been included. But Damgaard – hasn’t he been sitting on the bench more or less constantly in the Bundesliga for the past few seasons? True, but he still has that powerful shot and explosiveness. A top player for a newly promoted side – not bad at all.