Diego Garcia arrives, and Malmö have their number 9
Diego Garcia is a Malmö FF player. The Spanish striker was confirmed this week, and he takes the number 9 shirt straight away (1) (13). No long integration period, no wait-and-see, he is expected to lead the line when the Allsvenskan restarts. That is a statement, and it is the right one.
Garcia is 23, arriving from a Spanish second-division background, and the club have moved decisively to get him registered before the July 7 transfer window opens properly (7) (9). The World Cup is slowing everything else down, new signings are stuck in limbo, paperwork moves at half speed, but Garcia is locked in. In a squad that has scored exactly the same number of goals as it has conceded this season (GD 0, 9th in the table), a focal point was non-negotiable. Now you have one.
The manager hunt is dragging, and Botheim knows it
No permanent manager. Eirik Horneland talks stalled, no fresh developments. Jimmy Thelin was interviewed and, by all accounts, the club were not impressed (16). Gaute Helstrup of Bodø/Glimt has been contacted as an alternative (team background). Philip Berglund, the new sporting director, used the phrase "we are in some kind of final phase" this week (3). That is not reassuring. It sounds like a club still searching.
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Erik Botheim spoke publicly about the Norwegian candidates: "If any of them come, that would be great" (10). A striker saying that into a microphone is not a crisis, but it is a squad waiting for direction. Botheim has played under both names in Norway. He knows what they bring. The fact he is being asked tells you everything about where the vacuum is, the players feel it too.
The women's team put six past Kristianstad, and Fornes cannot stop scoring
Malmö FF Dam beat Kristianstad 6–0 in the Skåne derby on Saturday, and the scoreline flattered Kristianstad (4) (5) (6). Sara Kanutte Fornes scored a hat-trick. Miljana Ivanovic said at half-time, with the score already 3–0: "I feel like we could have scored five in the first half" (4). She was not wrong. Malmö are now third in Damallsvenskan.
The shadow here is Milan. Reports link Fornes with a move to the Italian club (19). Ivanovic has already been sold in what is reportedly a record deal for the women's side (11) (14). Two of the three goalscorers from Saturday might not be here when the window closes. Enjoy the derby demolition, but Berglund's "players on their way out" warning applies to the women's team as well (3).
The midfield quiet before a German storm
Otto Rosengren confirmed what the rumours have been saying: RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, and Schalke are watching him. No concrete bids yet, but the interest is real (15). Rosengren is 21, a Swedish youth international, and exactly the profile German clubs shop for. Malmö have already sold Samin Mujevic to Gladbach for eleven million kronor this summer (team background). Rosengren would fetch considerably more, and the club's financial model depends on these sales. Watch this one closely.
What to watch
The Allsvenskan restart is coming fast, and three things are unresolved: the manager, the centre-back situation, and whether Taha Ali stays. Ali is representing Sweden at the World Cup, Guillermo Molins has banned the squad from watching late-night matches (2), and his performances there will either inflate his price or convince the club to build around him. Malte Frejd Pålsson, 20, wants to fill the gap in a defence thinned by stress fractures and injuries (12) (14). Robin Olsen is back in training after a foot scare (17). That is good news, because the friendlies are over and Malmö 2–2 Midtjylland in the last one (5) (8) told you nothing you did not already know.
