From non-league to Sweden's top flight: Abdul Abdulmalik targets Premier League after record £1.5m move

Abdul Abdulmalik was playing National League football against Tamworth and Halifax Town nine months ago. Now, after a non-league record £1.5m move to Swedish top-flight side Djurgarden, the 23-year-old forward is facing Malmo, Goteborg and Hammarby — and dreaming of going further still.

The transfer drew widespread attention over the summer, with Abdulmalik revealing that clubs from League One and the Championship had registered interest but never followed through with formal offers. “People were just making jokes,” he told FourFourTwo. “They were saying one team bid £85 million but Boreham Wood said no because they wanted £100m. They are all just silly in the end, but that’s social media.”

When Djurgarden’s interest became concrete, Abdulmalik says he had no hesitation. “Once I knew there was interest from Djurgarden and I knew there was money being put in for me, I wanted to go. I told Boreham Wood I wanted to because it’s the type of opportunity that doesn’t come along every day.”

He cited the enthusiasm of sporting director Max Hahn as a decisive factor, alongside the prospect of winning silverware and competing in Europe. Djurgarden are still in contention for a Conference League place heading into the final weeks of the 2025 Allsvenskan season.

The journey has inevitably invited comparisons to Jamie Vardy, who moved from non-league Fleetwood Town to Leicester City at 25 and went on to win the Premier League title and earn England caps. Abdulmalik is measured about the parallel. “If I even get close to what he achieved in football I’ll be proud — but I feel like we have had very different pathways,” he said. “He was bought by Leicester at 25 from non-league and made the jump to the Championship. I’ve gone to Sweden.”

What Abdulmalik does share with Vardy is an ambition to rewrite the accepted route to the top. “I don’t know anyone who has gone from non-league, to Europe, and then into the Premier League,” he said. “I’m no Jamie Vardy but I want to be a groundbreaker.”

At 23, and with a record fee already attached to his name, Abdulmalik has time on his side. Whether the path through Stockholm eventually leads to England’s top division remains to be seen, but the first steps of an unlikely journey are already well underway.