Since the end of St. Louis CITY SC’s inaugural season last fall, the club has made an effort to bolster its back line.
It’s a process that has continued in the new year.
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CITY announced Monday that it has acquired Danish left back Nikolas Dyhr from FC Midtjylland of the Danish Superliga and signed him to a three-year deal, with a club option for 2027. According to Transfermarkt, CITY paid a transfer fee of approximately $540,000.
The move for Dyhr follows other similar acquisitions made by CITY sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, who has made a priority of adding talent and depth to the defensive ranks this offseason. Pfannenstiel addressed the right side prior to Christmas with the signing of Norwegian defender Tomas Totland from Swedish First Division club BK Häcken. Earlier last month, CITY traded Jared Stroud and Lucas Bartlett to D.C. United for defensive midfielder Chris Durkin, while also selecting versatile midfielder Hosei Kijima in the MLS SuperDraft.
Now, Pfannenstiel is hoping to add skill to the left side, where Dyhr is poised to head the depth chart.
“We are excited to add Nikolas to our backline,” Pfannenstiel said in a statement. “At just 22, he has won titles at both the youth and senior level in Denmark and has gained valuable experience in Europa and Champions League competitions. His ability to man the left-side of the field in the defensive third and final third will be key in our style of play.”
Indeed, Dyhr has begun to make a name for himself on the international stage. He started two matches for Denmark during the 2021-22 UEFA European U-21 Championship qualifiers, and scored on a penalty kick against Croatia’s U-21 squad. Dyhr also recorded 39 appearances across stints with his nation’s U-16, U-17, U-18, and U-19 squads in past seasons.
At the club level with FC Midtjylland, Dyhr contributed to recent pushes for a regular season title, along with two cup titles. Dyhr logged three goals—his first senior professional goal came during the 2021-22 Europa League— and eight assists across 103 matches with FC Midtjylland.
