Clement Bischoff: Who is the young Dane wanted by Brighton?

All over Denmark, Brøndby fans breathed a sigh of relief as the transfer window closed and the club managed to keep the young and exciting core. However, the relief only lasted a day before David Orstein broke the story of Brighton & Hove Albion signing 19-year-old Clement Bischoff for a reported fee of £6.8 million.

This makes him one of the biggest Brøndby transfers of all time. Up there with the transfers of Daniel Agger to Liverpool and Jesper Lindstrøm to Eintract Frankfurt.

The young winger will, reportedly, finish the season in the Danish Superliga and then take the big step to the Premier League in the summer.

But who is Clement Bischoff and what will he bring with him to Brighton?

Clement Bischoff – a meteoric rise

While most talented players are quickly poached by the big academies, Bischoff took an alternative route to the top.

He spent his youth at smaller clubs before eventually moving to Brøndby in the winter of 2022 at the age of 16.

Despite being somewhat of a late bloomer and arriving ‘raw‘, as head coach Frederik Birk described his journey in an interview with Bold.dk, he immediately proved himself.

It only took Bischoff three months before he earned his first contract extension and six months to become part of the first team.

Towards the end of the season, when Brøndby were fighting hard to win the championship – a quest that ultimately failed on the last day of the season – he earned his debut and managed four brief cameos.

The big breakthrough came this season though. With starting left wing back, Marko Divkovic, out injured at the beginning of the season, Bischoff, a natural winger, was thrown into the starting line-up and he impressed immediately.

Bischoff scored in his starting debut against Viborg in the opening league match. In the following Conference League match he contributed with an assist as Brøndby demolished FK Llapi 6-0 at home.

Despite playing out of position, Bischoff played with both confidence and calmness. He took on opponents and showed his technical abilities and skills on multiple occasions.

Even when Divkovic returned, there were never any doubt about Bischoff’s spot in the starting line-up. In fact, he became one of the first names on the team sheet.

Bischoff made fans think about all time great home-grown players such as Daniel Agger 20 years earlier.

Apart from an unfortunate Conference League match against Legia Warsaw, where he made a costly mistake as Brøndby were eliminated, he grew from match to match as he became more comfortable on his new position.

With a contract only running until the summer of 2026, the fans at Brøndby Stadium saw the writing on the wall if this wasn’t extended rapidly.

Since Bischoff’s breakthrough, there has been constant communication and negotiations, but nothing ever materialised.

For the same reason, Clement Bischoff moving to Brighton does not come as a surprise – just a sense of relief that he will at least finish the season and help the club fight for silverware.

A unique dribbler

By the time Clement Bischoff joins Brighton, he will have only one season of regular first team football on his CV. He is thus a player that still has plenty of unfilled potential and room to grow with an exciting potential.

Although he has played on the left – the wrong side even being right-footed – he boasts offensive statistics that would make most offensive players envious.

Bischoff had four assists in the league in the autumn, which was enough for a shared fourth place in the entire Superliga.

He created 31 chances, which was most by all defenders and sixth most in the entire league. All this despite having significantly fewer crosses than his opponents.

Daniel Svensson, who joined German giants Dortmund in January, created 30 chances on 113 crosses. Bischoff was only just behind on 42 crosses.

This was of course primarily due to Bischoff playing on the wrong side, which caused him to go inside the pitch more often than he could if he played on his natural right.

However, Bischoff doesn’t only create chances for his teammates. He also gets them for himself. In fact, no defender in the Superliga had more shots and shots on target than him in the autumn. With two goals on an xG of 1.3, he also proved a skilled finisher – although on a tiny sample size.

What really sets Bischoff apart, though, is his dribbling. He had the second most successful dribbles in the entire league with 35, and by far the most dribbles by any defender.

Bischoff is lethal with the ball at his feet and he can use both skills as well as his pace to get past his direct opponents.

What makes his dribbling truly special though is that there is a purpose when he does things. As the statistics show, he either sets up his teammates for chances or get a shot off by himself.

There is never any dribbling for the sake of it, as you might otherwise often see from younger players. Like Yankubu Minteh on occasions so far in the 2024-25 season.

The fact that Bischoff has half a season to prepare for his move could be an advantage for him as well on a personal level. He can stay fit with Brøndby and get valuable minutes and experience before taking the big step.

Bischoff will arrive in England with a foundation that most young players will envy. His uncle, Mikkel Bischoff, played for Manchester City, Wolverhampton and Coventry City during his playing career in the early 2000s. Uncle Mikkel can help prepare Clement for the pressure and expectations of the Premier League.

All in all, Brighton are getting one of the most exciting talents Danish football has to offer at the moment. And at a very good price due to his contract situation.

Toke Theilade @TokeTheilade