Danish Superliga 2026/27

Season Preview.

Another season of Danske fodbold is just around the corner, there are some returning faces, champions hoping to retain titles, some exciting talent breaking through and a particular giant from the capital looking to make amends on a previous disaster showing.

Ready? Excited? Good, so am I.

LYNGBY

Last Season

As Division 1 champions, Lyngby bounced straight back to the Superliga following a disciplined and efficient promotion campaign. Built on defensive organization, collective intensity, and an experienced spine, they consistently found ways to win tight matches and thoroughly deserved their automatic promotion.

This Season

Survival is the primary objective for the Royal Blues; they will be desperate to avoid another immediate drop. While unlikely to dominate possession against the league’s heavyweights, Lyngby possesses the structural integrity and tactical nous to frustrate any opponent.

Expect a compact 3–2–5 in possession that shifts into a resilient 4–3–3, characterized by aggressive work off the ball and a heavy reliance on quick transitions and set-pieces. If they can turn their home ground into a fortress, they have every chance of securing their top-flight status.

European Football

None.

Notable Signings

The arrivals of American goalkeeper Diego Kochen (on loan from Barcelona), Icelandic defender Daníel Freyr Kristjánsson, midfielder Oliver Højer (on loan from FC København), and striker Ísak Snær Thorvaldsson provide a significant boost to the squad’s depth and quality. A daunting opener against FC København awaits.

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The whole complication around the number of ESC slots available and the rules that went into whether a player qualifies or not, was as a result of the drop in minutes given to EQP (English Qualified Players) in the Premier League.

This led to much discussion between the Home Office and The FA, alongside key stakeholders, as to what to do with the ESC threshold. I wrote about all this in my recent piece on the changes.

However, it did make me wonder about how this came to be, i.e. how does it break down over Premier League clubs, and also, what about the EFL leagues as well? Is the overall trend of more minutes to non-domestic players drifting its way down the leagues as many trends tend to do?

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But it is done.

In this article you will find a list of 230 players who are now ESC eligible via the UEFA Qualifying campaign that is currently underway.

The first ties have been completed. Many clubs have now been eliminated. But the players born in 2003 and later are now ESC eligible for almost two years.

This means that English clubs have the opportunity to sign some of the players on this list for five transfer windows: Summer 2026, Winter 2027, Summer 2027, Winter 2028, and the beginning of Summer 2028 (unless the ESC rules change between times!)

The other thing that will prevent some of these players from signing in future windows will be age. Some of the players on this list will age out by the next window, and even some of the 21yo players will be 2004 born, so not eligible by 2028.

This is all because of the new rules for 2026 which means that players getting ESC have to be born in the year 2003 or later.

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Why we at GBE Expert Hub think that these rounds are so important is because there is a heck of a lot of talent on display in these rounds who are likely to be under budget and potentially better on the field than some EFL clubs have, and Scottish clubs as well.

Bearing this in mind, we are publishing a list of players who are ESC eligible and who have the quality to make an impact in the UK. This will only include players who are 2003 born or later because of the new restrictions on ESC transfers.

Joshua Young gives his recommendations in the Champions League and Conference League qualifiers.

Part 2 of this report will give you a full list of players who are ESC eligible following the opening ties of the UEFA competition. This will be sent to pro subscribers over the weekend.

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The English Football Association’s Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) system has become one of the most influential factors in determining whether overseas players can move to English football following Brexit.

Since freedom of movement between the United Kingdom and the European Union no longer applies, every foreign player must now satisfy the FA’s work …

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Some clubs in the EFL have woken up to this Band 2 to Band 6 concept. Some have clearly planned for it, judging by how quickly some moves have been made, and they have clearly focused on the Dutch Eredivisie.

Why is this a good move?

All four of the GBE Band 2 leagues - Netherlands Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, Portguese Primeira Liga, and, now, Brazil’s Serie A - all have second tiers which are in GBE Band 6.

This means that when a player is relegated from the top tier he will only keep his Band 2 points, which often will get a player a straight GBE, especially if they have played 40% or more available minutes, for the period of the summer.

As soon as they are registered for a match day squad in the new season in the lower tier, they will be classified as Band 6, and therefore have no chance of getting a straight GBE.

All players who have played in Band 2 will still be ESC eligible, because the reference period for ESC is two years, but with ESC becoming restricted to under 23 only, this will now also only apply to a select group of players.

Also, ESC slots are becoming tighter and there aren’t as many available as there was even last summer, so the need for GBE eligible players has increased.

Netherlands

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Sometimes transfers are all about the opportunities and timing, buying from Band 2 relegated clubs before players become Band 6 is an opportune move.

Why is this a good move?

All four of the GBE Band 2 leagues - Netherlands Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, Portguese Primeira Liga, and, now, Brazil’s Serie A - all have second tiers which are in GBE Band 6.

This means that when a player is relegated from the top tier he will only keep his Band 2 points, which often will get a player a straight GBE, especially if they have played 40% or more available minutes, for the period of the summer.

As soon as they are registered for a match day squad in the new season in the lower tier, they will be classified as Band 6, and therefore have no chance of getting a straight GBE.

All players who have played in Band 2 will still be ESC eligible, because the reference period for ESC is two years, but with ESC becoming restricted to under 23 only, this will now also only apply to a select group of players.

Also, ESC slots are becoming tighter and there aren’t as many available as there was even last summer, so the need for GBE eligible players has increased.

Belgium

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Sometimes transfers are all about the opportunities and timing, buying from Band 2 relegated clubs before players become Band 6 is an opportune move.

Why is this a good move?

All four of the GBE Band 2 leagues - Netherlands Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, Portguese Primeira Liga, and, now, Brazil’s Serie A - all have second tiers which are in GBE Band 6.

This means that when a player is relegated from the top tier he will only keep his Band 2 points, which often will get a player a straight GBE, especially if they have played 40% or more available minutes, for the period of the summer.

As soon as they are registered for a match day squad in the new season in the lower tier, they will be classified as Band 6, and therefore have no chance of getting a straight GBE.

All players who have played in Band 2 will still be ESC eligible, because the reference period for ESC is two years, but with ESC becoming restricted to under 23 only, this will now also only apply to a select group of players.

Also, ESC slots are becoming tighter and there aren’t as many available as there was even last summer, so the need for GBE eligible players has increased.

Portugal

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I wrote an initial reaction to the GBE changes when they came out, but for this piece I will be delving into what I think we will see with the changes to the GBE bandings and what impact that could have on both the leagues involved and our own domestic scene.

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The GBE and ESC rule changes coming in last week has made it interesting in terms of assessing certain players at the World Cup. Many players from lesser nations who are now 23 years old or over are pretty much impossible to bring to the UK because their ESC status is now ineligible, they would have to gather 15 GBE points to get into the UK, and for the lesser nations, this is not possible.

Autopasses are granted to players who play regularly for nations ranked inside the top 50, outside of that, there is no autopass available for a player.

A reminder of the current rankings, for the 24 month period, are shown below.

The autopass percentages are demonstrated here, as well as the number of points available if the autopass isn’t hit.

And the other key piece of information to show before delving into the main bit of the article is the ESC criteria themselves, which have remained the same, except the new age restrictions of under 23.

Player Snapshots

The first cycle of group matches is complete and I have done a quick snapshot profile of any player who got on the pitch in those matches.

These are presented in chronological order with wider explanations available on some of the more interesting statuses.

It goes without saying that I have left out any British players, and also any players who already play in the UK.

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Today is when the new GBE and ESC rules come into force. I have already done overviews of the changes in the men’s players, the men’s staff, and in the women’s game too.

The major changes have come primarily for the men’s game, and for the players specifically.

I will deal with the GBE banding changes in a separate article later this week, but for now I want to concentrate on what I believe will have the bigger impact, the change that means that ESC is now only available for players under the age of 23.

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Indeed, I have a stable of writers and scouts here whom I trust, and who have excellent knowledge of the leagues…

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Indeed, I have a stable of writers and scouts here whom I trust, and who have excellent knowledge of the leagues…

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The big one kicks off in only a couple of days and the eyes of the whole world turn to Mexico, Canada, and the United States for the next month.

We at the GBE Expert Hub are, at the end of the day, massive football fans, so we cannot help but do the same.

However, with a professional head on, I can’t help but ask, how many players that we will see over these 104 matches will be relevant from a GBE perspective, and how does playing in the World Cup actually affect your GBE status?

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Obviously, defending champions Argentina, and five-time champions Brazil, are the traditional powers of the confederation, whilst it has now been almost a century s…

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Having read the documentation I can only surmise that this is because the women's game documentation was ready to go, and had been for some time. The pressure has been more on the men's game, as we discussed in the piece on that released on Saturday.

So, what to report in the documentation?

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The overall guide to the legislation on this is still here, and still relevant, as very little has changed regarding this.

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The 2026 version of documents have been submitted much later than usual this season. From this I think that we can ascertain that there was a lot more work and negotiation behind the scenes before the rules were agreed.

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The 2025–26 Bulgarian First League season will be remembered as one of the most significant campaigns in the country’s modern era. Not only has the league produced a new champion, but it has also marked the definitive end of one of European football’s most sustained periods of domestic dominance.

Levski Sofia successfully maintained their advantage at the top of the table to secure the league title, ending Ludogorets’ remarkable run at the summit of Bulgarian football. Beyond the achievement itself, attention is already turning towards how Levski intends to strengthen ahead of both European competition and the defence of their crown.

Early indications suggest the club are targeting proven domestic performers to add greater depth and experience to the squad. One name attracting significant attention is Pedro Naressi, whose contract situation at Ludogorets has created an opportunity for rivals. Naressi would represent a notable acquisition for Levski, providing control and stability in central midfield while also remaining available to interested clubs in England due to his ESC eligibility status. Reports have also linked Levski with Lokomotiv Plovdiv striker Joel Zwarts as they look to reinforce attacking options ahead of a demanding campaign.

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