AaB-Aalborg

Just remember to give him time to develop and build some muscles on - and allow for him to fail and play a few bad games Despite that he seems to blend in well, we have yet to see him against PL-opposition. That being said, i think it looks promising, in my eyes he has shown that he has the potential to succed and Lambert has an idea about how he wants him to play. Hopefuelly Helenius will be able to make an impact already this season for you.

Don't know what highlights you have acces to on AVTV, but here are some from Bochum

Here is full highligts from the game, posted in the AaB-forum
Edit: sorry, that is probably from your match thread

for Helenius pronunciation, try listening to this clip at around 0:22 and again 0:26

I'm not talking about ability, type of striker. He doesn't play with his back to goal, to hold it up bring others in.

Correct. However he learned it at bit during the last season in the danish league - but as said before, he needs some weight (muscles) to do it on PL-level. Helenius is by far best with the front towards goal and the ball at his feet. He is not really a poacher either. That is also why he might fit better on the wing or in the hole in your 4-3-3.

 

 

 

Helenius needs more strengt in order to score goals like that consistently on PL level - as you have also observed, he is best when he gets a little room, which will not happen in PL (at least not very often). If you get 25M for Benteke i am sure you will buy a replacement. I am not saying that there is no chance that Helenius is able to step up to the challenge already from this season, but it will be a big risk to bet all your money on him. He is used to playing 4-4-2, so will also need to adjust to the new style of play. I don't see him as your front man on a regular basis in this season. Maybe in the hole or on the wings supporting the top striker, i think that is Lamberts plan for him.

I hope Villa get a replacement. Both for Villa and for Helenius. Give him a little time and patience

 

So how is his pace ?

 

not bad for him but he is not really a player that is so reliant on it.

Either way, the danish guy is right. We cannot and should not expect Helenius to step it up this season, I believe he will be a great signing but we should be a little bit patient with this one.

 

 

I'm asking that because it is said that he could play as a winger .. Because we already have Gabby and Tonev who have great pace .. Weimann isn't bad too .. So is it worth putting him instead one of those ? or just change the system to 4-4-2 when he's in ?! or put him behind the striker ?

 

He is pretty fast. Nothing crazy, but well above average i would say. He would not be a traditional winger, but a attacker on the wing - i think that would suit him fine. Probably he will also fit into the hole behind the striker as i said, as there will likely be a bit more room for his shooting. I have'nt seen enough Villa matches to say where he will fit the best, but Lambert will probably give you a hint in the preseason matches, as to where he sees him playing.

Helenius needs more strengt in order to score goals like that consistently on PL level - as you have also observed, he is best when he gets a little room, which will not happen in PL (at least not very often). If you get 25M for Benteke i am sure you will buy a replacement. I am not saying that there is no chance that Helenius is able to step up to the challenge already from this season, but it will be a big risk to bet all your money on him. He is used to playing 4-4-2, so will also need to adjust to the new style of play. I don't see him as your front man on a regular basis in this season. Maybe in the hole or on the wings supporting the top striker, i think that is Lamberts plan for him.

I hope Villa get a replacement. Both for Villa and for Helenius. Give him a little time and patience

I can see that preseason is coming up - 3 games in Germany this week? How do you follow your team in these matches, are there a live stream or is it "only" by live commentary on the web page or facebook/twitter?   I look forward to see how Lambert is going to use Helenius, i guess he will have a half or two in some of the matches.

http://www.avfc.co.uk/javaImages/42/c6/0,,10265~12043842,00.jpg

 

"Niklas Helenius loving his first day at Bodymoor. Pictures by Neville Williams/Aston Villa/Getty Images."

 

Not sure the caption quite fits the picture there....

He does'nt normally show that many emotions. Almost only scoring and winning can put a smile on his face

A small interview from tipsbladet.dk with our new Director of Sports, Allan Gaarde. He is replacing our current Director through approx 20 years, Lynge Jacobsen. He started 2 weeks of tutoring on 14th June. Google translated, hope you can read it

As Lynge Jakobsen and Allan Gaarde Tuesday 18 June flew to England to negotiate a Nicklas Helenius sale, the two AaB leaders thought that they figuratively would get a striker with back home.

A little article from Tipsbladet.dk - google translate again

Many clubs swarmed about Nicklas Helenius, but in the end was the only Aston Villa, who commanded it, AaB would have for him. It fits the now former AaB'er excellent.

The first ever player-director? Yeah I don't think I expect that either

 

That was the google translate part The text in danish is also bad. Basically he is just saying, that he does not expect to play from day one.

So you moved the thread i see, i did wonder why the other one was so quiet...

A little article from a danish online-media. Hope the google-translate is OK, don't have time to translate it myself:

AaB striker Nicklas Helenius switched today to the Premier League club Aston Villa. Here he comes in hard company with more skilled attackers, but he sees as something positive.

- Of course there is competition, but it also makes me feel better. In the national team there are also many attackers on the tender. It makes more desire and determination to show that you are good enough, says Nicklas Helenius to bold.dk.

The long north Jutland does not expect that he go directly to Birmingham and grab a spot on the team. First he must get used to things and build on.

- I've been told I get chances if I perform as I have shown, I can. And then I put some things on, and it gives me time. You know, I still need to grow. There is no one expects me to enter and play from the start, and I do not even. It is a development, so it felt like the right club, he says.

- Tempo-wise, I get used to the Premier League and learn how to play one or two touches when you can as the attacker. Physical must also be built, although I think I have shown that I am able to keep defenders away. But there must kilos on the body, says Helenius.

Nicklas Helenius has signed a three-year contract in the traditional, English club, where he is joined by fellow countryman Jores Okore who switch from FC North Zealand.

 

 

Welcome to our Danish friends. Are there any other young quality players from Denmark we should be looking at?

Yes there are some very promising young danish players.

Especially the danish under 19 national team is considered a "golden generation". They didn't qualify for the under 19 championship because they lost 2-0 to Portugal last weekend.

 

Hypothetical question for you Aalborg BK...............How do you think the Danish under 19's would fair against Aston Villa FC under 19's bearing in mind we are the current European Champions at that level?.

 

I know it was not for me, but interesting question. I would call it a close match, maybe in favor of Denmark - partly because i don't know your U19 that well. I know you won against Ajax, but they were without the danes Fischer and Lucas Andersen, probably the best players in their "youth" department. The problem being a national team however is, that we are a small nation, so for instance our left and right back as well as goalkeeper is not the best. We have former AaB'er Jacob Laursen in Juventus, but i do not know if he is injured at the moment - he played nextgen playoffs as well, as far as i know. Trains with A-team in Juventus from time to time, plays Primavera normally. But we have DC Anders Christensen, who played against your U19 for chelsea in the final in the NextGen. I don't know who is actually the preferred partner to him in the central defence, but AaB's Jakob Blaabjerg used to play it earlier on. He has already had his senior debut for us. So the defence is the weak part of our team.

In the midfield we have Pierre Emile Hoejbjerg of Bayern Munich, half french so they are probably thinking about him for the national team already now. He has already played in the bundesliga and been on the bench several times. We have Inters Patrick Olsen, also been on the bench for them several times already, not making any debut as of yet - played nextgen-playoff. Both central midfielders. Then there is Lasse Vigen Christensen, playing for Fulham U21 as their youngest player i think. I don't have a clue how good they are in U21? Then we have Christian Nørgaard playing in the Hamburg SV reserves. Both Lasse and Christian are also midfielders, but a bit more attacking players. Then there is Lucas Andersen and Victor Fischer of Ajax. Lucas has played one cap, ready to step up next season - already been on the bench several times. Fischer on the other hand, has already proved his worth scoring 10 goals in 23 games after his debut last season. He will be a star - was not playing against Portugal U19, as he was with the national team. Last but certainly not least we have Kenneth Zohore, as tall as Helenius with at bit more muscles, playing for the Fiorentina reserves.

I do not know who would win, as i do not know your U19-team that much. But i don't think you will be able to top our midfield or attack. Many of these guys are not playing U19 in their clubs and have not for a while. So that could talk for a danish advantage, i don't know if you have any of your U19's playing PL yet?

Welcome to our Danish friends. Are there any other young quality players from Denmark we should be looking at?

As DanishVillan said, not much to choose from.There is Cornelius, who definitely will end up in a bigger league, but seems overpriced.

Rasmus Falk is very fragile and have yet to prove himself. I do not think he will ever be capable of PL, but 7 goals and 6 assists in 4.000 minutes starting 44 of 59 games played, talks for a guy who have yet to prove himself in the Superliga. I see him reaching his top level in Belgium or Holland.

Central midfielder Casper Sloth (21) from AGF might develop into a good player. Decent priced, already 2 caps for the national team. If he plays a solid next season and continues his development, i don't see why he should not be a PL-subject.

Our own Kasper Kusk (21) is also one of the most talented players in the league, got his breakthrough this season. Had trouble scoring this spring, so needs to step up and deliver a good next season. Will be sold next summer (90% certain), Crystal Palace was reportedly interested, but i think he wish to stay for a season, to be ready for the move. Maybe next year Villa?

Here is a little video of Kusk - also with some assists to and from Helenius. Some say he is similar to David Silva, i don't know. But he is good when it works for him, needs to produce a bit more next season. Also see 1.49 and 3.39 for Helenius headers - not a strength, but he got the hang of it at the end of the season

Cheers

 

Thanks for all the info on this forum so far. Will you be sticking around to follow Helenius through the season?

 

You're welcome. I will, and i might drop by Villa Park when (not if ) he is starting for you in a year or two. Villa will probably also become more regular on danish tv, with both Okore and Helenius in the team. Last season we had about 3-5 live matches from each PL-round.

 

I thinks he's disappointed from AaB's point of view.

Ahh my apologize, did not see that haha.

Yeah good price for us, a little disappointing for you guys. Have you got a replacement lined up?

 

haha yes, from an AaB-supporters point of view - for you it is a bargain - no risk as you say, 1.2M is peanuts for you guys and he definetely has potential. 1.2M is about 2 times our equity value, so i am not all sad

No replacement, we rely on our youth system to provide us with something, and maybe a minor signing. Maybe this guy, 18 years-old Lukas Spalvis from our youth department, you can come get him in 3 years or so He scored this goal for Lithuania U21 last week

Helenius fee agreed. 1.25m with 500k add ons.

In Birmingham today to complete deal.

Danish media are saying 1.2m and clauses, personal terms are expected to be settled right now and medical this afternoon. Congrats!

I am a little dissapointed with the transfer fee, but happy that he ends up in Villa. Treat him well

Just remember, that for every goal, he has probably missed a chance or two as well. For instance the free kick, there have probably been 10 before and after, where it has ended up a bit over goal or right in the keepers arms. I think the important thing is the ability to get to these chances and the ability to make these goals, the succes rate can always be improved - you can't teach everybody to shoot like D. Luiz for instance. Also the goals where he just places a weak shot in the second before the keeper expect it (for instance 1.40 into the video above), if the keeper does pick it up - Helenius comes off looking a bit stupid. But he is ready to do it again a second later, and when it is succesful, it is the keeper that comes off looking stupid. He has something, that you can't just train to be good at.

Here is a last video with a few extra goals, just to show that he can also make an easy goal from time to time, though not being his speciality. 1.11, 1.51, 2.14 and 2.23 in, there are som poachers goals and also a few penalty scorings in there as well. Enjoy

In danish media they have confirmed that he is flying in over the weekend or by latest monday, to take a look at the club, negotiate personal terms and probably do a medical. I don't know if they have speeded up the process, this was the status wednesday. They were not settled on the price (it has not been confirmed at least), latest talks are 1.2M - with clauses taking the total to possibly around 1.5M. I'll call that a bargain, despite only 1 year left of his contract

Maybe your initial interest has been in Cornelius, who is more of a Benteke'-light'. Good aerial skills, nice strength and technique - also bagging a decent amount of goals. He is however playing for FCK which are by far the best team in the league, and therefore benefits from being a controlling team with loads of chances and a lot of other players to threaten the defence - having a wage budget that are probably between 2-4 times higher than closest rivals in the league. I think he has PL potential as well, maybe even more so as Helenius (a few years younger as well), but he has not really proven himself yet against more difficult opponents. Latest with a few bad displays for the national team, from my point of view. Rumors are however, that they are demanding around 9-10M £ for him, having rejected a 7M bid from Everton in the last couple of days. Which could be a really good reason to prefer Helenius over Cornelius.

Last info for tonight from my side. Some of you were wondering why the negotiations with Helenius was mentioned/confirmed by AaB and Villa - and not the ones concering Okore. This has to do with the danish stock exchange, where AaB are listed. There are currently some cases in Denmark where information about future sales (of key players) have been leaked before it was confirmed, and later reported to the stock exchange. The clubs involved have recieved fines and warnings, why AaB is probably just ensuring that it does not happen for us. Helenius is were dedicated to joining Villa, so they probably knew they were going to withdraw him from our summer start-up today and allow him to go to Villa for medical this weekend, so they could might as well relase the information. Okore is however playing for FC Nordsjaelland, owned by a "rich" man, and therefore not subject to the stock exchange rules. So simple as that, it is probably not your management that have decided to realase the information..

Samjp26: I am an AaB-fan, not FCN, so i actually don't know - have'nt noticed where he is playing. Coming to think of it, i think he played left CB in yesterdays national game when he got at the start of second half. Not his best performance, but i don't think that will be a problem for him. I just think he plays where the best attacker is in the opposition. As i said, he really have no problems on Superliga-level - besides a weaker CB playing next to him. Don't worry, he will learn in a few months, if you need him to play left CB i am confident

Martin Laursen have said in danish media, that he thinks Okore and Helenius are a perfect match for Villa. I think Okore will establish himself on your team within months, no later than january - if given a few chances in the starting eleven. Helenius is probably 1-2 years, depending on when he is given a good chance - he will probably have to build a bit more on, before he i starting-material - and maybe wait for Benteke to move on, as he have been playing recently