Albert Grønbæk - Scout Report
The Danish midfielder was a standout performer for Norwegian champions FK Bodo/Glimt in 2023.
Player Information
Name: Albert Grønbæk
Club: FK Bodo/Glimt
Nationality: Denmark
Age: 22 (Born 2001)
Position: Centre-midfielder (left)
Preferred foot: Right
Height: 1.76m
FK Bodo/Glimt were crowned champions of the Norwegian Eliteserien in 2023 following a campaign of dominance. Under the direction of Kjetil Knutsen, their players excelled in a possession-based system, arguably none more so than twenty-two-year-old Albert Gronbaek. Tallying nine goals and seven assists in the league this season, Gronbaek was averaging an impressive 0.60 g/a per 90 (0.45 xG/A p90).
In the three games I watched (Rosenborg (H), Valerenga (A), Odds (A)), Bodo lined up in a classic 4-3-3, with Gronbaek starting on the left of the midfield three. His role on the pitch was extremely free - he could drift to wherever he wanted, providing support all over the final third. Bodo’s opponents were almost always sitting in deep low/mid-blocks against them, so Bodo were forced to be very patient as a team in order to break down their opponents. They would constantly try to overload the right-hand side, with Gronbaek being key to this, being the +1 that would create the overload. Bodo’s patient play combined with their overload-to-isolate (overload right, isolate. left) tactic reminded me of Michel’s Girona.
Technical:
Gronbaek is very much an old-school #10 profile. As a result, his technical floor is very high. He has the quality to carry, shoot, and set up a teammate. Due to his role as a creator/output machine around the box, some of his actions carry a higher level of risk (turnovers).
First Touch:
Gronbaek has an excellent first touch - doesn’t stop the ball dead and sets himself up for his next action, whether it be a carry, shot, or pass. This ensures the momentum of the attack does not slow down when he receives the ball. The majority of the passes he receives are on the ground, making them much easier for him to control. He has a good variety of first touches in his locker - when he has the time and space to receive on the half-turn, he does it well, receiving on his back foot rarely miscontrolling or stopping the ball completely. When receiving in more congested areas / with less time, Gronbaek has an excellent first touch to get away from pressure, often using the defenders’ momentum against them.
He also often opts for first-time layoffs and flick-ons in these situations, which he weights properly. He adjusts his body well to make sure to receive on his back foot as often as possible.
Close Control/Dribbling:
Gronbaek has a carry-first instinct - when given time and space (especially in transition moments), he opts to carry the ball up the pitch himself as opposed to finding the outlet ball right away. While dribbling up the pitch, he keeps his head up as much as possible, looking for options, while also keeping his upper body upright, which helps him add disguise to his next action. Gronbaek takes medium-length touches and combines them with short steps, allowing him to accelerate quickly away from defenders. He has a good tendency to not over-carry or dribble into congested areas - he attracts opposition defenders towards him, opening up space for his teammates, and he often releases the ball at the right time.
When dribbling in congested areas or when lined up 1v1 against a defender, Gronbaek uses his quick feet + agility very well to manoeuvre tight spaces and take out multiple defenders in one sequence. He is very creative in these situations, using feints, nutmegs, roulettes, etc. When a defender is closing him down, he has a tendency to cut inside of the defender (again, using their momentum in his favour [seen in the video above]), especially if it leads to him ending up with the ball on his right foot.
Shooting:
Gronbaek can strike the ball cleanly with his right foot in a variety of ways - instep, laces, toe-poke finish. However, there is a clear bias towards his right foot - out of the 70 shots he took in the Eliteserien this season, 63 were with his right foot, 4 with his left, and 3 were headers.
As seen in the diagram above, his shots are coming from either the middle of the pitch or the left halfspace area, which makes sense given his starting position on the left of the midfield three. He likes to cut in and aim his shots towards the top right side of the goal. He spends a lot of time in zone 14, explaining the volume of shots from that area as well. An xG overperformance of 3.44 may signal to some that he may be due for a regression, but this overperformance is down to his ability to shoot from range (lower xG opportunities, 5 of his 9 goals were < 0.10 xG chances). He is also a decent one-time finisher when running onto a through ball or receiving a set from a teammate / second ball situations.
Passing:
Effectively playing as a #10, Gronbaek is the secondary creator for this Bodo team, meaning most of his passes can be categorized as passes in congested areas / high-risk + high-reward ‘final’ passes. His relatively poor passing accuracy (76%) is thus a result of his pass selection as opposed to poor technique. In regards to his technique, Gronbaek possesses the technical ability to execute a wide range of passes - driven passes, lofted passes, ground passes with the instep, lofted passes with the instep. His passes to feet are generally accurate and weighted properly, showing his high level of technical empathy (passing to the correct foot more often than not). His short-length through balls are great and delivered in a variety of ways - reverse passes, one-touch layoffs and flick-ons, regular through balls.
His delivery from out wide is also of good quality - with both feet. He has a lovely whipped cross with his right foot, whereas with his left he usually opts to float or chip the ball towards the middle of the box or the back post. Where I found he struggles (in the games I watched, at least) with his passing is when he attempts to play a longer outlet ball with the inside of his foot in attacking transitions. He tends to under-hit these (with the occasional over-hit pass), which forces his teammates to check their runs and slows down the momentum of Bodo’s attacks. These sorts of passes are generally harder to pull off with the inside of the foot, so it is recommended to change the technique on the pass, rather than the pass itself (the pass is more often than not the correct decision).
Tactical:
Gronbaek has the tools to become an elite-level creator in European football. He is a player who likes to take responsibility in the final third, always wanting to be the guy who either scores or plays the final ball. As a result, his actions carry a larger amount of risk, but he makes it easier for himself with his intelligent movement, positioning, and scanning.
Movement and Positioning:
In the games I watched, Bodo’s opponents were happy to sit in mid/low-blocks and challenge Bodo to play through them. Bodo’s play was extremely patient in this regard, moving the ball from side to side as they tried to manipulate their opponents’ blocks.
Gronbaek is essentially non-existent in Bodo’s build-up play in their half. This is partly due to the lack of pressure faced by Bodo - access to the middle third of the pitch is relatively easy, and there is no need for complex build-up structures. When the ball is on the left-hand side or in central areas, you will often see Gronbaek in the left halfspace, stationed in between the opponent’s back line and midfield line, looking to ‘split’ opposition midfielders with his positioning. This makes it harder for opponents to pick him up, as someone would have to vacate their post to mark him tightly.
When the ball gets switched to the right side, Gronbaek often doesn’t stay on the left - he drifts centrally or even to the right halfspace/wing to contribute to the attack. If he was not drifting to the middle of the pitch when the ball was on the right side, Gronbaek would drift over to the ball side to interact with his teammates and become the +1 in an overload. His ability in tight spaces meant he was able to combine well and exploit the numerical advantage Bodo had over their opponents.
He doesn’t always move to create an overload, however - sometimes he would opt to stay around the left halfspace or take up central positions to attack the box when a cross is sent in. You will often see him occupying these zones waiting for a cutback/set, a loose ball to fall for him, or a ‘rebound’ from a cleared cross - he has scored a couple of goals from these situations. His late entries into these areas are well-timed and he is comfortable + adept at hitting the ball first time off of sets and cutbacks.
It is important to note that due to the nature of Bodo’s patient play, most of his shifting in position is lateral - he shifts from side to side, as opposed to dropping to collect the ball (though this is something he could work on). He likes to start in between lines against mid-blocks, finding pockets of space where he can play 1-2s, through balls, or take a shot himself.
When the ball was on Bodo’s left-hand side (Gronbaek’s side), Gronbaek could often be seen making runs starting from zone 14 into the left halfspace or from the left halfspace into the channels. In the cases he received the ball after his movement, he would attempt to penetrate the box via a dribble or a cutback to a teammate. In the scenarios in which he didn’t receive the ball, these runs would ensure he would be in the box as the ball was played in. Gronbaek’s movement around the box is to ensure he can be in the best position to directly impact the attacking sequence (to put it simply, he wants to be the guy scoring/assisting/pre-assisting).
Scanning:
Gronbaek is an elite scanner offensively and it helps him paint a picture of the pitch in his head before he gets the ball. This allows him to act faster than the opposition - as he already has a clear picture of what he is going to do. It is because of his scanning that he is able to receive on the half-turn so often (when he does so, you can see him scan multiple times before receiving, ensuring he has the space to turn). He can also play well in tight spaces due to his awareness of his teammates’ positioning - because he knows where they are, he can release the ball in one touch, which is key to breaking down compact blocks that are trying to deny space. This awareness of his teammates’ positioning allows him to recognize third-man run situations early and execute them well.
In the two clips above, you can see how early he is scanning - as soon as he THINKS he may get the ball, he starts visualizing the pitch for his next action. His scanning isn’t only pre-reception - while he is carrying the ball up the pitch you can see him constantly looking for the best option available to him. His overall understanding of positioning and space on the pitch means he has a great sense of tempo when on the ball. He can constantly recognize when it is time to slow down the game by taking a few extra touches, but when to speed it up (by playing the ball in 1-2 touches) as well.
Out-Of-Possession:
Much like their opponents, Bodo would be happy to sit in a mid-block and invite their opponents to play through them. This block, a 4-5-1 (Gronbaek as the LCM), was extremely compact and organized, nullifying their opponents of any space. Gronbaek performed relatively well in this block, occasionally getting split by passes to advanced 8s/10s that had taken up a position in the space behind him.
You can see above how his fixation on the ball causes him to leave the passing lane open. I believe he could have done better in these situations by constantly scanning and being a proactive defender as opposed to reactive (proactive in this situation would imply he is actively looking to close down passing lanes, being aware of players behind him). When someone dropped in front of him to receive, he occasionally showed good anticipation and successfully pick-pocketed the receiver from behind, launching Bodo into an attacking transition.
Physical:
Standing at 1.76m (approximately 5’8) and 73kg (around 160 lbs), Gronbaek is not the most physically imposing player. He uses his smaller frame well to get out of tight spaces quickly.
Speed/Acceleration:
Gronbaek has good acceleration, with an initial burst using short steps which eventually turn into longer, more controlled strides. As a player whose first instinct is to carry the ball up the pitch, this is key for him getting away from immediate pressure / helps maintain a distance with defenders trying to catch up to him.
Agility/Balance:
Due to his smaller frame, Gronbaek is blessed with high agility. He is able to perform different types of feints with great efficiency, while also displaying quick footwork to constantly dribble out of tight spaces. He has good balance with the ball at his feet, able to ride contact and keep carrying the ball up the pitch.
His combination of speed and agility allows him to avoid contact while carrying/dribbling the ball, he is constantly making defenders miss their tackles.
Psychological:
Gronbaek is a very confident player, a player who has full belief in his abilities. This is seen in multiple aspects of his play:
His tendency to shoot from range + from different angles
His constant movement and wanting of the ball in impactful areas (zone 14, pockets of space in between lines)
He wants the responsibility of being the creative hub of the team
He is a willing runner offensively, constantly trying to find the best position for him to receive a pass in. However, he could do better to be more engaged defensively.
Areas of Improvement:
Increasing zone of influence (ZOI)
This is my biggest gripe with Gronbaek. He is a brilliant player with loads of potential - in the games I watched he simply did not get on the ball enough. This was a result of his tendency to basically ‘hang out’ in between the opposition’s midfield and back lines. He would often let the play come to him as opposed to going to the play. There is nothing wrong with this, but I can’t help but feel his influence on matches would grow if he were to drop deeper to receive. He has the ability to play through blocks, whether it be via line-breaking passes, dribbles, or quick combination play with his teammates. For added context, his FotMob statistical radar has him in the 2nd (!!) percentile for touches per 90 among midfielders in the Eliteserien in 2023. It is important to note, however - two of the games I watched were before the departure of Hugo Vetlesen to Club Brugge, a player that would have theoretically ‘taken away touches’ from Gronbaek.
Defensive scanning/positioning
He would occasionally get exposed in Bodo’s mid-block, with passes getting past him and into players in the pockets between lines. He could do better here by scanning more often but also trying to read the intentions of the passer to close down lanes earlier - proactive, not reactive.
Variety of passes (in technique)
As I mentioned in the passing section, his outlet balls especially are occasionally not weighted properly, resulting in turnovers or forcing his teammates to check their runs. He has the technical ability to pull off the required passes (driven passes and lofted passes, for example), it is just a question of choosing the proper technique in each situation.
Creation of passing lanes
This AOI is a bit unique - although there are scenarios where he could improve the angles he offers his teammates (sometimes his positioning means that passes have to be ‘eye-of-the-needle’ requiring high technical ability), I believe that players with higher technical quality than that of his teammates may be able to pull off such passes.
Player Comparison and Outlook:
As I mentioned earlier in the report, Gronbaek is very much a classic #10 profile - in the mould of the best in the world at the position: risk-taking, creative responsibility, eye for a pass, and game-breaking ability. His movement and positioning on the pitch remind me of another player I’ve analyzed, AC Milan’s summer signing Tijjani Reijnders. Both are very involved around the box, looking to assist their teammates or score themselves.
Gronbaek has recently been linked with a move away from Bodo - having shown consistent improvement in each season of his career thus far, I believe it would be the right time for him. His quality has surpassed that of the Eliteserien. He has been linked to Leicester and two of the three big Turkish clubs, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray. Seeing him at Leicester would be interesting given that it more likely than not means he would be playing in the Premier League in 2024/25. If he does move to Leicester, the six months in the Championship would help him get adjusted to the pace of the game at a higher level - the speed of play in the Eliteserien is not the fastest and a few months of adaptation would do him a world of good. A move to Galatasaray or Fenerbahce would help him get used to higher-level European football (UCL, UEL), and hopefully propel his stock so he can eventually move to a top club. No matter where he goes, I believe Albert Gronbaek has the potential to play for a perennial UCL club, potentially a contender.
Thank you for reading! If you want to get a look at my per-match findings, I have attached my three match reports below:
Video Credits: