Fifth-Tier English Club Rejects Million-Pound Bid
Boreham Wood refuses to sell Abdul Abdulmalik despite Swedish Djurgarden sending a second, improved offer. The story echoes the early days of Jamie Vardy.
Boreham Wood refuses to sell Abdul Abdulmalik despite Swedish Djurgarden sending a second, improved offer. The story echoes the early days of Jamie Vardy.
Abdul Abdulmalik, the 23-year-old striker for Boreham Wood, has become the most talked-about name in England's fifth tier after his club turned down a million-pound offer (approximately €1.2 million) from Swedish top-flight side Djurgarden. According to Index.hr, this is already the second rejected bid for the player who shone last season.
Abdulmalik joined Boreham Wood in July 2024 as a free agent after his contract with Millwall expired. In his debut season, he exploded onto the scene, scoring 17 goals and adding 10 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions. His performances propelled the club to the playoff final for promotion to the fourth tier, where they lost to Rochdale on penalties at Wembley.
Thanks to his outstanding displays, Abdulmalik was named the National League's Young Player of the Season. Although Transfermarkt does not list an official market value for him, the interest from the Swedish club underscores his potential.
BBC Football explains that Djurgarden's interest in Abdulmalik is no coincidence. The Swedish club recently appointed Max Hahn as sporting director, who previously worked as head of recruitment at West Ham United, where he also collaborated with current Sweden manager Graham Potter. Hahn is known for his strategy of identifying players before their value peaks, with the aim of selling them on for a profit.
A successful example of this model is Danish striker August Priske. He joined Djurgarden from Midtjylland in 2024 and scored 18 league goals in 2025. By January 2026, a lucrative transfer to Birmingham City followed.
Before the first bid, which was £750,000 (around €875,000), and then the rejected second offer of £1 million, Abdulmalik had also drawn attention for a potential record-breaking move. If he is eventually sold for more than £1 million, he will break Jamie Vardy's 2012 record for the most expensive transfer of a player from outside England's professional leagues. Back then, Leicester City paid Fleetwood Town for Vardy, whose career later became a football fairytale.
Abdulmalik, who typically plays as a left winger, came through Millwall's youth ranks but never made a first-team appearance. Between Millwall and Boreham Wood, he also had a loan spell at Wealdstone, and he can boast three caps for England's U-17 national team.
Although the path from the fifth tier to the top is long, Abdulmalik is well on his way to replicating the story of the famous Vardy. For now, Boreham Wood is holding firmly onto its gem, and whether Djurgarden will send a third offer remains to be seen.
