Football League World
·10 January 2025
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·10 January 2025
Wycombe Wanderers' addition of Anders Hagelskjær could concern Birmingham City and Wrexham.
Wycombe Wanderers' latest signing may be a concern to Birmingham City and Wrexham, with the addition of Anders Hagelskjær proving to be a real statement of intent.
The three sides have been locked in a battle for those automatic promotion spots and Huddersfield Town may have just joined the race after their Tuesday night victory over the Chairboys.
This leaves the four sides separated by just six points, with almost half of the season still to contend with.
Huddersfield and Birmingham were widely expected to compete for the top two spots. However, Wrexham and Wycombe, despite their affluent owners, have defied expectations and done brilliantly to stay in the race to this point.
To continue fighting it out they will both need a strong January window, and Matt Bloomfield's men have been forced into additions after star loanees Caleb Taylor and Aaron Morley departed the club.
So far, they have addressed the defence by signing Sonny Bradley from Derby County and Anders Hagelskjær from Molde in Norway. The latter was a brilliant addition, and it has to strike fear into the Chairboys' promotion rivals as to who else they could bring in.
Last May, Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze took over ownership of the Wanderers, buying a 90% stake in the club.
While many people expected him to make some big signings in the summer, he remained cautious and offered money for the necessary additions they needed to make.
Now fighting near the top of League One, questions will be asked of Lomtadze, and he has answered early in the window by adding Hagelskjær to the squad.
The Danish centre-back, previously playing for Molde in the Eliteserien, joined the Chairboys earlier this week in a £500,000 transfer.
To most Wycombe fans, he may be an unfamiliar name, but his CV is certainly impressive.
Over a two-year stint at Molde, Hagelskjær made 73 appearances, with 22 of those coming in high-profile competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Bloomfield was clearly delighted with this addition, and expressed the importance of data in pinpointing the 27-year-old as a potential target.
“We’re really excited to have Anders at the club and to have someone with recent experience of playing European football coming in to help us build on the progress we’ve already made this season, the Wycombe boss said.
“The data model demonstrates that he will be a really shrewd signing and it’s brilliant to recruit a player of his stature to strengthen our chances of achieving success for this football club.”
Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)
Having secured a ready-made replacement for Taylor, the next priority for Wycombe will be finding a player who can fill the void left by Morley.
For Wrexham, Birmingham, and Huddersfield, the fear will be that this could be another statement signing, following the Chairboys' half-a-million investment in Hagelskjær.
In truth, this is what the Buckinghamshire club had to do, as the other three sides have shown no hesitation in splashing the cash in the past.
If they can get their additions right between now and February, they will be well-placed for a tilt at promotion. However, should they fail to find a new addition in midfield and lose one of Joe Low or Richard Kone, it could hand the advantage to the aforementioned trio.