The 2023 Allsvenskan regular season concluded on Sunday afternoon. The Championship was decided by a final day showdown between Malmo and Elfsborg. Elfsborg needed a point or better to win the title on Malmo soil. The home side knew that no less than a victory would suffice.
Malmo won the game 1-0 thanks to a Isaac Kiese Thelin penalty and Malmo celebrated their 23rd league title.
With the introduction out of the way, the title decided, let's use some data and video from this seasons campaign to search for three players who look primed to move on from the Swedish league.
Sebastian Nanasi, 21 (Malmo)
The data - Nanasi has an overall pass accuracy of 83.7% and ranks high for accurate passes to the final third (71.4%) and ranks second in the league in Wyscout's smart passes metric with 25 overall, 0.86 per 90, top for deep completions with 83 overall, 2.87 per 90.
The story - Nanasi made his breakthrough at Kristianstad in 2018 before signing for Malmo in 2020. Nanasi had top flight loans at Varbergs BoIS and Kalmar before becoming a key component in Malmö's 2023 title win with 11 goals and 7 assists from 29 appearances. Nanasi has broken though to the Sweden squad and has two caps to his name.
Value - €4.5M
Contract expiry - 31.12.2025
The video - Nanasi is approximately 5ft10 and operates best inverting from the left using his favoured right foot. Nanasi isn't lightning fast but has great movement, body shape and balance which helps him find pockets of space. He is a beautiful short and long range passer and he always has meaning to his attacking play, highlighted by his goals and assist record.
Lucas Bergvall, 17 (Djurgarden)
The data - Bergvall has an 80.22% accurate forward pass percent rate, only five midfielders in the league that have played as many minutes as him has higher. His backwards and lateral passes %rate scores above 90% suggesting he is an able distributor of the ball. But it's his attacking data that stands out. Bergvall has 4.48 successful attacking actions per 90, significantly higher than any other centre midfielder that has played close to as many minutes as he has. Bergvall has 4.65 dribbles per 90 with 62.96% successful, 3.27 touches in the box per 90 and 2.07 progressive runs per 90.
The story - Bergvall was recently covered by the Guardian newspaper as 'one of the best 2006 born players in the world'. He started out at Brommapojkarna where he played nine minutes of third tier football in 2021, aged 15 followed by 440 minutes of second tier football the following season. He then moved to Djurgarden for the 2023 season where he's featured in 25 of 30 possible matches, getting 977 minutes of match action. Bergvall has represented Sweden at all youth age groups and is currently a part of the under 21 squad.
Value - €3.5M
Contract expiry - N/A
The video - Watching tape of Bergvall is mouth watering. Bergvall is extremely talented in tight spaces, using great skills, trickery and balance to his advantage. He is approximately 6ft1, demands the ball off his defence even when under pressure and starts attacks with a great half turn and a mix of progressive passes or dynamic bursts. He follows this by making great runs into the box, every thing he does is positive, he's always trying to affect the game. A stunning manipulator of the football with a giant future.
Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson, 22 (Elfsborg)
The data - Valdimarsson has a prevented goals rate of 5.99, the best in the division and has kept 13 clean sheets with a save rate % of 77.89 from 95 shots faced.
The story - Valdimarsson began his senior career in his native Iceland at Grotta. By the time he moved to Elfsborg in 2021, Valdimarsson had already made 84 senior appearances. He made 5 appearances in his first Allsvenskan season, 14 in his second, he would've been an ever present this campaign but for missing one match through suspension. Valdimarsson has represented his country at U18, U19, & U21 level and has been called up to the senior squad but is yet to make his senior international debut. He started all of Iceland's under 21 matches at the most recent UEFA U21 Championships. Valdimarsson has been a major factor in Elfsborg title challenge, a key reason why they've conceded the least amount of goals and has been nominated for the Allsvenskan Best Goalkeeper award.
Value - €1.2M
Contract expiry - 31.12.2027
The video - Valdimarsson is approximately 6ft2. He has supreme reflexes from short range efforts and great agility. He is equally capable diving to his right and his left. He gets down very well to low efforts, predominantly with his hands, occasionally using his feet. He has good command of his penalty area and is capable with aerial duels but this area isn't as strong as his shot stopping. Valdimarsson prefers long and mid range distribution. He is more Goalkeeper than Sweeper Keeper.
Data taken from Wyscout, video from Wyscout, contract and market value from Wyscout and Transfermarkt