A Level-Headed Look at Nicklas Bendtner

In the past few days, rumors linking Nicklas Bendtner to Minnesota United as a possible designated player have surfaced on twitter.

Bendtner, who is best known for both his time at Arsenal and the meme that is his personality, has played in some of the world’s best leagues. But even though he’s played in the English Premier League, Serie A, and the Bundesliga and is physically gifted (he’s 6’4”), his goal scoring record is unimpressive.

In 11 seasons of first division football, he’s only managed to score more than 10 goals across all competitions 3 times, and his only season of 10+ league goals came while he was playing for Birmingham during a loan spell in the Championship. Fans who defend Bendtner often cite his goal scoring record for Denmark. At 0.40 goals per game, it’s certainly better than his 0.25 goals per game average at the club level, but it’s still not great.

A quick google search reveals that Bendtner was earning around $1.5 million as recently as 2012. However, he’s currently contracted to English Championship club Nottingham Forest, so it’s unlikely his wages would be incredibly demanding. Regardless, the Minnesota United board will have to decide whether or not a striker with such an unimpressive record is worth a DP spot and what will surely be one of the club’s top salaries.

This fan says no.