Several young players from the Djurgarden academy have taken the step up to the first team. During the summer transfer window, Abdirahim Abdulle, Milian Jansson, Vincent Larsson, and Carl Selfvén signed contracts with the senior side, according to a report from Djurgården Fotboll published on September 8.
Who are the four new first-team players?
Carl Selfvén has been part of Djurgarden since he was 12-13 years old. Abdirahim Abdulle joined the club from FK Balkan in Malmö via a contact help by Isak Alemayehu. Milian Jansson and Vincent Larsson both have backgrounds at BP before joining Djurgarden's academy. These four promotions follow the earlier moves of Christopher Sliwo and Melvin Vucenovic Persson into the first-team environment. Academy chief Joel Riddez commented on the development. "It's very exciting that so many players from our academy activities have now received first-team contracts at Djurgarden," Riddez said.
How are other academy talents performing?
Alexander Andersson has already seen playing time in the Allsvenskan. He made two substitute appearances and recorded his first assist in the match against Mjällby at 3Arena. Melvin Vucenovic Persson and Christopher Sliwo are performing well on loan at Vasalund. Kalipha Jawla is on loan to Öster in the Superettan. On the girls' side, both the Swedish U15 and U17 national teams have called up five players from the 2009 and 2011 cohorts. Jean Balawo is responsible for the girls' side of the academy.
How are Djurgarden's youth teams doing?
Results at the youth level are strong. Djurgarden's U17 boys lead the P17 Allsvenskan. The U19 boys are in the title race in their series. The U16 boys have started their autumn playoff series. On the girls' side, the U17 team is in the fight for the league title in F17 Allsvenskan Norra, while the U19 girls are having a strong season. Several older players from the U19 girls' team are on loan to IFK Lidingö to gain senior experience.
What is the context for the first team?
The promotions come as the first team is performing strongly in the Allsvenskan. The team sits in second place with 38 points from 20 matches. They have won 12, drawn two, and lost six. Their goal difference is impressive with 44 scored and only 19 conceded, a difference of +25. Sirius leads the league by a margin of seven points. The team's recent form is four consecutive wins followed by a loss. You can follow the table on our standings page.
What is the next challenge?
Djurgarden faces IF Brommapojkarna away on October 18. BP currently sits tenth in the table. The match is an important part of the autumn run-in. The full schedule is available in our fixtures calendar. The first team's support staff at Kaknäs includes fitness coach Aleksandar Cvetanovic, who works with sport science, and naprapath Edward Fonsell. Riddez concluded by noting the diversity of the players' paths. "It's exciting that there are many different journeys up to a first team," he said. The full squad information is available on the squad page.
