Who is Patrik Carlgren?
One To Watch
Swedish goalkeeepr Patrik Carlgren was decisive for FC Nantes against Paris Saint-Germain this weekend, making nine saves and helping his team to a surprising one-all draw at the Parc des Princes. Little-known outside Scandinavia, the veteran clearly repaid the faith shown in him by Antoine Kombouaré, but remains something of an unheralded quantity -- learn more about him in our latest profile.
A frustrating situation
Countenancing the departure of Alban Lafont this summer, and still awaiting the development of youngster Hugo Barbet, FC Nantes added a veteran presence to their goalkeeping options in the form of Carlgren. A promising player at U-21 level, having won the 2015 European Championships, Carlgren had plenty of experience and was seen as an ideal bridge until Barbet was ready to make the leap into the first team. However, when Lafont failed to depart, Carlgren became a backup, surely a frustrating situation for the 32-year-old, especially considering Les Canaris' struggles this season. Now, after an impressive display against the champions, he could just be key to their hopes of survival.
Born in the small mining city of Falun in northern Sweden, he made his first-team debut with his hometown club, before playing in first the second tier with IK Brage and then in the top flight with AIK, a club who regularly played in Europe. He then joined Danish side Nordsjaelland, where he failed to make an impression, before an ill-fated spell in Turkey with Konyaspor saw him feature just once. Returning to Denmark in 2018, he became a first team regular with Randers, winning the Danish Cup in 2021 and playing in the UEFA Conference League, helping them reach the knockout stages.
He joined Nantes this summer on a free transfer, but remained firmly on the bench behind Lafont, a player who has career has stuttered at times, but is just 25 and has been a part of the France setup at times. After some uneven play from Lafont of late though, Kombouaré saw fit to bring in Carlgren, a player who has backed himself, despite acknowledging the level of the Frenchman in preseason.
Speaking to Nantes' in-house TV channel in the summer, he said "I am happy to be here; I think I can bring something to the team, by showing my quality in training, and hopefully I get my chance to play some matches." In Saturday's match, he had his opportunity but things seemed close to unraveling early on though, as Carlgren conceded less than two minutes into the match. Not overawed by the occasion, though, he regained his composure and followed his having conceded by making big saves from Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes and Vitinha before the interval.
Working to preserve a point after Matthis Abline's equalizer, it was more of the same after the break, as he made a fine save from Bradley Barcola before the hour. While the jury is still out as to who will be in goal for this weekend's derby against Stade Rennais, as Kombouaré said post-match, "I wanted to see what our 'Viking' was all about." The veteran manager now has his answer and a tough choice to make this season after Carlgren's standout display.
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