About two million pounds for a player from non-league. Djurgården’s signing of Abdulmalik is both expensive and daring.
But there is a reason why Djurgården were prepared to pay the record amount.
The numbers from his last season show a player with qualities that are hard to find.
Abdulsabur Oluwatosin Olubukola Alao Oladipupo Abdulmalik.
What a fucking name, though.
The question is whether his efforts on the field will live up to both the standard of the name and the price tag.
For 20 million kronor is a lot of money for a player who comes from non-league. A lot of money.
It is also a record sum for a player who was signed directly from that level. When Jamie Vardy left Fleetwood for Leicester in 2012, Leicester paid around 1 million pounds, equivalent to about 10 million kronor at the time.
Abdulmalik has certainly made a name for himself in England, but it’s worth remembering where he actually played. Boreham Wood are based in the National League, the English fifth division and the level below League Two, which is the lowest level in the English league pyramid.
Now Abdulmalik will instead play for gold in the Allsvenskan and do it in a Djurgårds shirt which, considering the transfer fee and all the international coverage, comes with quite high expectations.
It’s easy to see why Djurgården got hooked on him. His numbers stand out and there are qualities to his game that are hard to ignore.
But this is also where the first objection comes.
How much are those numbers actually worth?
Dominating against non-league opposition is one thing. Doing the same against Allsvenskan defenders is something else entirely. The pace is higher, the players are better and the time with the ball is reduced.
That doesn’t mean Abdulmalik’s numbers are worthless. Quite the opposite. But they must be put into context.
And 20 million kronor makes it difficult to just sit back and say that it is an exciting signing with potential.
For that amount, there should ideally be more than potential. If you’re going to spend 20 million on a player, why not do it on a player who has already proven himself at a higher level?
There is also another thing that makes Abdulmalik’s transfer worth examining a little more closely.
He refused to train with Boreham Wood when he wanted to leave the club.
It doesn’t have to mean that the same thing will happen at Djurgården. A conflict with a previous club doesn’t necessarily say much about how a player functions in a new environment.
But it’s still part of the story.
Djurgården have thus paid a large sum for a player who is untested at this level and who has already shown that he may be prepared to go to great lengths to get his way.
Who is Abdulmalik?
Abdulmalik is not a player who suddenly appeared out of nowhere last season. He grew up in London, came through Millwall’s academy, represented England at Under-17 level and was part of a Millwall Under-21 team that won the Professional Development League South two years in a row, which is quite an achievement.
But the path into senior football was not obvious.
In September 2023, Abdulmalik was loaned to Wealdstone, then playing in the National League. It was his first experience of senior football and he managed to make eleven appearances before returning to Millwall at the turn of the year.
The following summer he was released by Millwall.
After several years in a Championship club’s academy, he was suddenly out of contract and needed to find another way forward.
On 29 July 2024, the then 21-year-old Abdulmalik signed for Boreham Wood as a free agent. It was hardly the most obvious destination for a player of his background as the club had just been relegated to the sixth division, National League South, but it would prove to be exactly what he needed.
The time at Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood became the club where Abdulmalik got the chance to seriously establish himself in senior football. In his first season, his role grew and he was part of the team’s return to the National League straight away. In April 2025, he also signed a new contract until 2027, with the option of a further year.
He often started from a central attacking midfield position rather than playing solely as a left winger, which is his natural position. He made a total of eleven assists and four goals in 35 games, most of which came off the bench.
Boreham Wood FC can confirm that Abdul Abdulmalik has departed the club to join Djurgårdens IF.
We would like to thank Abdul for his time with the Wood and wish him the very best of luck in his career.
🔗 https://t.co/a0zPOcQ87Q
🎨 @JackPatmore_ #WeAreTheWood pic.twitter.com/n9EBJHRuqJ— Boreham Wood FC (@boreham_woodfc) August 30, 2026
The 2025/26 season was something completely different. Abdulmalik was no longer a substitute but a regular starter, scoring 17 goals and 10 assists in 54 games. In addition, he was selected in the National League Team of the Year.
The most interesting thing, however, is not the goal scoring itself, but how he created his chances.
In the report from Twelve Football, Abdulmalik is ranked third out of 182 wingers in the league in terms of his running and ability to create dangerous situations with and without the ball. He is second in getting into the penalty area with the ball and also second in how much he threatened the opponents’ goal with his ball transports. His dribbling is ranked fifth best among the 182 players.
That says a lot about the type of player Djurgården have signed. They have been looking for a versatile star who matches their ambitions more than, for example, the somewhat half-obtuse workhorse Fallenius.
Abdulmalik is at his best when he gets the ball on the left wing, can challenge his defender and then get into dangerous areas. He entered the penalty area with the ball 3.32 times per 90 minutes, second best among all wingers in the National League. He also had 5.41 ball touches in the penalty area per 90 minutes, which was fifth best in the league.
His passing game is also at a high level. Abdulmalik is ranked 22nd out of 182 wingers and was particularly good at creating chances with his passes close to the opposition penalty area.
He completed 0.66 key passes per 90 minutes and created 0.28 expected goal chances per 90 minutes according to the report’s measurements. This placed him among the better forwards in the comparison.
There is therefore much more to his 13 league goals and seven assists than just the fact that he happened to play in a team that scored a lot of goals. His main strength seems to be his ability to create chances himself. He can push the ball forward, get past his defender and enter the penalty area, while also having the quality to create chances for his teammates.
Defensively, it doesn’t look as good, which is understandable if you want a spearhead offensively and have someone behind him who can handle empty spaces that arise when Abdulmalik goes on offensive raids.
His expected goals per shot is just 0.08, which places him far down the list of players compared. This shows that Abdulmalik often shoots from distance or from bad positions, but at the same time scores. This says something about his clinical ability and, like former player Tokmac Nguen, he can do unexpected things and be the one needed in games where the opposition has parked the bus and is defending compactly.
Is he worth his price tag?
Djurgården have not paid 20 million kronor for a player who has already proven that he can do it at the Allsvenskan level. They have paid for a player whose qualities indicate that he can do it.
And that is an important difference.
It’s hard to know how good the National League is in a Swedish context, but let’s say the best teams would have placed in Super League or at the top of League One.
Rival AIK recently paid 10+5 million kronor for Linus Carlstrand after a good six months in the Super League and it turned out to be a good deal despite the price tag.
However, there is one important difference between Carlstrand and Abdulmalik: age.
This also means that Abdulmalik must be seen more as a signing for the here and now. Djurgården have not signed a 20-year-old who can have two or three seasons to grow into the team and then be sold on at a big profit. They have signed a 23-year-old so that he can make a difference right now.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Djurgården has to sell him for more than 20 million for the deal to be successful.
Djurgården know this better than most.
The club have shown in recent years that it is possible to make big money from European play, and in some cases the income there can outweigh an individual player sale. If Abdulmalik helps Djurgården to a Swedish Championship title, further into Europe and there to new large income, he can be a very profitable investment even if he is never sold for a record sum.
That’s why 20 million shouldn’t necessarily be judged solely based on what Djurgården can sell him for in a year or two.
They have bought a player who is expected to contribute immediately.
And considering the price, age and level he comes from, that’s also where the big risk lies. Even though Djurgården can afford to take the financial risk.
At the same time, the signing shows something bigger than just what Djurgården think about Abdulmalik.
It shows that the club’s new sporting management dares to go their own way, identify players outside the most obvious markets and pay heavily for a profile they believe in.
20 million kronor is a lot of money for a player from the National League. But in this case I think it tastes as much as it costs.
By Joel Goldman
