After handling Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling on his international debut, Christian Norgaard is dreaming of the Premier League with ‘Danish club’ Brentford
- Christian Norgaard faced Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling on his national debut
- Now he wants to test himself against the best every week in the top flight
- Brentford travel to Bournemouth in the first leg of their Championship play-off
Christian Norgaard kept Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling at bay on his international debut for Denmark, and now he wants to test himself against the best every week by helping Brentford into the Premier League.
The Bees travel to Bournemouth on Monday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, hoping to make it third time lucky after missing out at this stage twice in the past six years.
Norgaard has been outstanding in both defence and midfield, and he marked his full international debut with the man-of-the-match award when England were held to a goalless draw in Copenhagen last September. He says that performance boosted his confidence and filled him with pride.
After battling with Harry Kane on his debut, Christian Norgaard now wants the Premier League
‘It was the proudest moment of my career, right up there with any other moment,’ he said.
‘Playing against top players, hopefully some of the players I will face next year, and to see that I could be not only just be playing among them, but also putting in a good shift against them – that was really nice for me on a personal level, especially on my full international debut. It was an amazing experience.’
He added it has given him an appetite to to do the same on a regular basis in the Premier League.
Brentford travel to Bournemouth in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final
‘Yes, definitely. We all want to compete at the highest possible level, and now we have a good chance to be there next year. We know there’s a lot of work before that can happen.’
Bournemouth also have a Danish midfielder in Philip Billing, but Brentford are the best-known Championship club in Denmark, with half-a-dozen players and a Danish coach Thomas Frank, as well as joint ownership with FC Midtjylland.
‘They call Brentford a ‘Danish Club’ in Denmark,’ added Norgaard.
‘There are a lot of Danish people and players around the club so it would be a massive thing for Denmark if we were to go up,.
‘But Brentford are already spoken about a lot in Denmark because of our performances, reaching the play-offs and being in the mix for automatic promotion two years in a row.
‘That’s a fantastic achievement. Now we want the icing on the cake by going up.’