Robert Skov: Who is the Hoffenheim winger, Denmark's answer to Gareth Bale?
Hoffenheim wasted no time reacting to the loss of Joelinton this summer, bringing in Denmark's answer to Gareth Bale, Robert Skov.
bundesliga.com takes a closer look at the prolific Danish flier...
Robert Skov
Age: 23
Club: Hoffenheim
Position: Right winger
Country: Denmark (1 cap)
Key stats
Breaking the Danish Superligaen record for most strikes in a single campaign - 30 goals in 34 games - Skov was a cut above last season. FC Copenhagen were the beneficiaries with the league title returning to the capital after a disappointing 2017/18 campaign in which the capital club had finished fourth. Not happy just to win the top scorer's prize - 15 clear of his nearest challenger - and 2018 Player of the Year award, Skov also set up a further 10 for his teammates.
Skov, who made his professional debut as a 17-year-old with Silkeborg before joining Copenhagen in January 2018, was rewarded with his first senior cap for Denmark in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying in June 2019. The 6'1" left-footer previously represented his country at U18, 19 and 21 level, as well as at the summer 2016 Olympic Games.
Plays a bit like: Gareth Bale
It is no surprise Skov has been dubbed 'Denmark's Bale'. The similarities with the Real Madrid and Wales winger are striking, and not just because of their venomous left peg. Both have eye-catching pace and dribbling skills in their locker, not to mention a keen eye for a goal where nobody else would even contemplate shooting.
Furthermore, their set-piece sorcery is second to none. Of Skov's 30 goals last season, eight came from direct free-kicks, while four more came off shots from outside the penalty area.
The main difference between Bale and Skov is that the latter prefers to operate as an inverted winger, terrorising down the right before cutting in on his favoured foot, while he is also happy taking up a position off the shoulders of a classic centre-forward.
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Did you know?
It will now be up to the Bundesliga judges to decide how accurate that assessment is, but if history is anything to go by, Hoffenheim's fans are in for a treat.
Ebbe Sand was Denmark's top scorer in 1998, a year before he joined Schalke. After a solid debut campaign in Gelsenkirchen, he claimed the Bundesliga's Torjägerkanone in his second season in Germany's top flight with 22 goals.
For those who don't think lightning strikes in the same place twice, be warned that Skov in Danish means 'forest', and we know how much lightning is attracted to tall trees.
What they're saying
"I have great respect for Robert, who has scored so many free-kick goals for Copenhagen. He does not waste many at the moment, and that is exceptional, so I may be in danger as [Denmark's] free-kick taker, if he continues." - Tottenham Hotspur's Denmark international, Christian Eriksen
"Robert possesses an extraordinary left foot and technique, which make him a real goal threat." - Hoffenheim sporting director, Alexander Rosen
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