Nottingham Forest face the model club of modern Europe - Midtjylland’s rise explained

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 18 Mar 2026 14:27 GMT
• 9 min read

Analysis

Bodo/Glimt’s run in the Champions League was brutally ended by Sporting CP on Tuesday, but Midtjylland have already shown this season that there’s more to the thriving Scandinavian club scene than the side from the Arctic Circle.

Midtjylland's story is one that has been years in the planning and has seen the club enjoy steady and sustained growth in terms of their European progress.

Founded in 1999 when a carpenter and a car dealer merged Ikast FA and Herning Fremad, the club has become one of the most important in Denmark, winning four Superliga titles but also becoming a major breeding ground for talents such as Simon Kjaer and Joachim Andersen.

Now just 27 years into its existence, Midtjylland stand on the brink of its first European quarter-final.

Mike Tullberg’s side are just 90 minutes away from ousting Nottingham Forest, having beaten the Premier League side 1-0 at the City Ground. That was no fluke. They also won 3-2 at the same venue back in October, while their only defeat in 15 Europa League games this season came away against Roma by a 2-1 margin.

Unbeaten at their 12,000 capacity MCH Arena since 30 March, 2025, the Danes will start Thursday’s clash as favourites to progress.

Midtjylland’s secrets to success

The secret to Midtjylland’s success is player development. Tullberg’s squad is cosmopolitan to say the least. Players have been drawn from all corners of the globe: South Korea, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Turkey, Zambia, Chile and England are just some of the nationalities represented in this multicultural squad.

That it works at all is testimony to the depth of work that goes on behind the scenes before a deal is even struck.

Midtjylland’s transfer strategy works thanks to a successful combination of data and subjective in-depth knowledge about market and player assessment. This is combined with player personality tests to determine whether they are suitable to make the move.

Of course, these players must fit into the club’s style of play and culture, and, if they’re a young player, they must have the potential to play in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga or Serie A.

But it’s not all about transfers. The well-being of players is paramount to the success of the club.

A source explained to FootballTransfers: “They started the academy in 2003/2004 as the first in Northern Europe.

“One of the grounding pillars of FCM is to educate human beings and develop football players with a holistic approach. Moreover, they invest heavily in surrounding the players with experts, individual coaches, etc. They pay more attention to development, trust and human growth than being leading on salaries.”

On the verge of a major breakthrough

Midtjylland’s plan is reaping rewards. In seven of the last eight seasons, they have finished in the top two of the Superliga and they are on course to do so again.

While this steady domestic progress is to be commended, what’s been really impressive is the club’s steady European growth.

FCM is now competing in Europe for a 12th successive season, regularly reaching the group stages and increasingly threatening to make a big breakthrough into the latter rounds of the competition.

Just 90 minutes stand between them and glory.

Who are Midtjylland’s star players?

Scouts have naturally been flocking to Jutland to witness the growth of this side and pick out some of the talented youngsters who have been driving their success.

The win away against Forest last week, for example, was achieved with five players starting aged 23 or under – and that’s despite missing 21-year-old top scorer Franculino, who has been sidelined since December due to a knee problem.

Indeed, the Guinea-Bissau centre-forward is one to watch. Data analytics firm SciSports rates him among the best forwards statistically in the Europa League this season, matching Porto’s Samu Aghehowa in part thanks to scoring three goals in five games.

His Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), meanwhile, has risen to €22m while he has been associated with the likes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

Winger Dario Osorio has been earmarked as a player with a very high ceiling. The Chilean, who has been likened to Angel Di Maria amidst links to Arsenal and Liverpool, missed the first leg of the Forest clash but created what proved to be the winning goal in the autumn.

The 22-year-old rates highly across the board. While his dribbling and finishing are commended by SciSports, top clubs will be looking at his superb defensive work as eye-catching attributes. He excels in terms of his ability to both break up and stall counterattacks, while his positioning is also very highly rated.

Current ETV

Darío Osorio

F, M (R)

Midtjylland

Darío Osorio

F, M (R)

Midtjylland

€9.9M

ETV Range

€8.4M - €11.4M

View full profile

Finally, the offensive contributions of Aral Simsir cannot be ignored. He has 11 goals and 18 assists across all competitions this season, with these 29 goal contributions eclipsing anyone else in the squad.

It’s been a breakout campaign for the versatile attacker, who is on course to double his tally of 18 goal contributions from last term. This rapid rise has been recognised by SciSports, which has reassessed his potential upwards dramatically after a period of what it describes as “significant development”.

Quick and with immense stamina, the club’s youth product is a physical monster who is beginning to flourish after some patience on Midtjylland’s part.

Mikel Gogorza: Midtjylland’s biggest star yet?

Key to the approach of a club like Midtjylland is the ability to future-proof themselves.

While the Danes, no doubt, have summer transfer targets already earmarked to come to the club, young left winger Mikel Gogorza is regarded as their biggest prospect, according to SciSports.

The 19-year-old does not have the quality of a Franculino, an Osorio or a Simsir at present, but he is one to watch as he develops in the coming months.

Midtjylland prepared to stick around

Midtjylland’s success this season may have flown partially under the radar thanks to Bodo/Glimt’s excellence in the Champions League, but the Danes are being monitored by Europe’s biggest teams, and the odds are that this summer they will be at the heart of multiple important transfer sagas.

Their progress may have been slow and steady, but it’s also been measured and smart, suggesting that they are set for a long stay at their newfound heights.

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