Dan and dusted…Warriors star makes big move
Reports from Denmark indicate that the defender will sign a four-year contract worth around US$4,3 million and become the first Zimbabwean to feature for the serial Danish champions.
WARRIORS star Munashe Garana’nga is set to break new ground, with reports yesterday suggesting that he is joining Danish giants FC Copenhagen from Belgian side KV Mechelen.
Reports from Denmark indicate that the defender will sign a four-year contract worth around US$4,3 million and become the first Zimbabwean to feature for the serial Danish champions.
It has also emerged that the 23-year-old turned down the opportunity to play in the English Premier League after rebuffing strong interests from league returnees Leicester City.
Other clubs that were interested in his signature, according to the reports, are Germany Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach and La Liga’s Real Betis.
It is the Danish top club, which had him in their sights for a long time, which decided to push through for the highly-rated defender.
The transfer fee is about 10 times what KV Mechelen paid for him in January when they signed the defender from Moldovan team Sheriff Tiraspol, where he had penned a three-year contract.
After settling well at the club, where he made 16 appearances, it is suggested that Mechelen was forced to sell to raise money to use in the transfer market.
Prior to his deadline transfer to the Belgian Pro League side, Garan’anga was also wanted by French Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot.
Garan’anga is rising to become an integral part of the Warriors squad and has featured in all the four 2026 World Cup qualifiers that Zimbabwe played against Rwanda, Nigeria, Lesotho and South Africa.
He is expected to be part of the core of the team that will play in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers where Zimbabwe were pitted against Cameroon, Kenya and Namibia.
The qualifiers start in September.
The right back’s move to Copenhagen, a team that perennially competes in Uefa competitions, is a welcome boost for the Warriors, as he is expected to develop his potential.
Copenhagen, who finished third in the Danish League last season and will feature in the Uefa Conference League in the upcoming European season, is one of the biggest clubs in Denmark.
It has won a shared record 15 Danish Football Championships and a shared record nine Danish Cups.
In European football, Copenhagen have reached the group stage of the Uefa Champions League and the group stage of the Uefa Europa League more times than any other Danish club and are the only club from that country which has reached the knockout stage of the Champions League.