Monday, June 28, 2021 at 13:57• Yanick Vos • Last update: 14:06

NEC has strengthened itself with Magnus Mattsson. The people of Nijmegen report on the club website on Monday afternoon that the 22-year-old attacker comes from Silkeborg IF and signs for three seasons. The Dane’s contract includes an option for an extra year. Last season Mattsson scored 22 goals and 8 assists in Denmark’s second tier.

Technical director Ted van Leeuwen is happy with the arrival of Mattsson, who captained Silkeborg last season. “In the Under-17, Magnus already caught my eye at Silkeborg, which incidentally has an excellent education. Kasper Dolberg is also from there,” says Van Leeuwen. “Magnus is an elegant player who can play as an attacking midfielder and on both wings. He scores easily and was largely responsible for the promotion of Silkeborg IF to the Superliga.”

Van Leeuwen emphasizes on the club website that attracting Mattsson was not easy. “Magnus is a former youth international and has sparked the interest of many clubs with his goal production at Silkeborg. We are very pleased that he chose NEC as there was a lot of interest in him. With his infectious way of playing football, he will certainly appeal to our supporters, who love attractive football.”

Mattsson says he is happy to have signed with NEC. “It is the right step in my career for me. The ambition of the club that emerged during the talks was ultimately decisive. Many young talents are under contract and several experienced employees have already been recruited. That is a good and important combination. At NEC I will grow as a footballer and as a person. I am looking forward to playing football for the club.”

Matsson was under contract with Sillkeborg until mid-2023. For the attacker, whose market value by Transfermarkt is estimated at 700,000 euros, according to the Gelderlander reportedly paid a small million euros. Mattsson is the fifth reinforcement for NEC for the new season. Earlier, Van Leeuwen already managed to bring Ilias Bronkhorst (Telstar), Lasse Schöne (sc Heerenveen), Danny Vukovic (clubless) and Mikkel Duelund (Dynamo Kiev) to Nijmegen.