Dirty Details
Name: Jonas Knudsen
Nationality: Denmark (7 Caps)
Current Club: Malmo FF
Age: 28 (Birthday, Sep 16)
Physical Stats: 1.85m, 82 kg
Transfermarkt Value: $1.3M, contract ends 2023
Position: Left Back and Left Center Back
Strengths: Throw-Ins (Yes!), Work-Rate
Weaknesses: Sufficient Floor for Italian Football
To Be Determined: Positional Fit in Gasperini’s System
While I was scouting potential soon-to-be Atalanta player Anel Ahmedhozic (I still need another look, as I didn’t see enough to definitively impress me), I came across one of the most off the radar exciting players you could possibly think of: Danish fullback/centerback Jonas Knudsen. I you were to compare this Series to – let’s say – Bob Dylan albums, you have your classic analogies like Charles de Ketelaere = Blonde on Blonde, Joey Veerman = Blood on the Tracks. But this report would be like scouring through Dylan’s basement in 30 years and just finding some random tape lying in the corner collecting dust that the auctioneer missed. Essentially what I’m saying is that Knudsen is as random as it gets, and there is really only one reason I’m writing this up – throw-ins!
Knudsen signed on a free transfer to Malmo from Ipswich Town in 2019, and really isn’t too noteworthy of a player. He doesn’t have a skill that shines through inside the touch lines. He works hard and is decently pacey, but it is difficult to envision him being any sort of feature player in Serie A – not just for Atalanta – but any club not battling to stay out of the relegation zone. However, I do have a dream. A year ago another Dane, Thomas Gronnemark, began making headlines as a throw-in guru. Of course ESPN only found out about him once he started working with Liverpool, but Gronnemark has had success developing throw-in strategies and schemes across Europe with the likes of RB Leipzig, Ajax, Gent, and Midtjylland. His skills are so in demand that there has to be something to the method of his madness. But I have another solution, what if you just bypass all that extra strategy – simplifying the game down for the players so they don’t have to be worried about an extra tactical facet of the game (when players’ minds are already swimming with what to do).
Enter Jonas Knudsen. The touch-line corner kick master. The dude could probably be trained as a relief pitcher if he wanted to, his arm strength is nothing I’ve ever seen before in football. Just watch these throws where every throw in the opposition half essentially becomes another corner kick:
Imagine bringing this weapon in when a goal is desperately needed in the waning seconds of a match?!? Not only is it a psychological barrier for opposition to overcome, but it is legit hard to prepare for. It’s a set-piece from the touchline, how do you practice against that? Of course the conversion rate isn’t high, but I’m sure its much higher than a cheap back-throw to a centerback. Knudsen won’t be a defensive liability either, and he still has enough skill in other aspects of his game to be a weapon if need be- he did play for Denmark in the 2018 World Cup so he certainly isn’t a pushover. In fact, he has a little offensive flair to his game, and in a world where quality left footed athletic defensive players are difficult to find – you would not have to twist my arm to take a $400-500k flyer on the Dane.
Now I know this scouting report is completely out of left field, but I couldn’t resist writing him up after seeing his throw-ins. In a world where footballers are converging into carbon copies of one another sometimes, it is refreshing to see a player with a skill that is nearly unparalleled in Europe. I’d just love to see what Romero, Djimsiti, and Zapata could do getting on the end of some of these throws, and let’s not forget we’re always in desperate need for left wingback help, I think Knudsen could hold his own in limited minutes in that regard too! Thanks for taking a ride on a road off the beaten path, and dreaming with me on a player that is more fun than fits a real need – but could potentially be a threat if used correctly! Forza Dea!!!
