Boreham Wood have turned down a £1 million offer from Swedish club Djurgårdens for forward Abdul Abdulmalik — and it was not even the first bid they knocked back this summer. Sky Sports Football reports that the Allsvenskan side, one of Sweden's biggest clubs, had already made an earlier approach before returning with the seven-figure sum. Both were rejected.

For a National League club — England's fifth tier, one step below the Football League — turning down £1 million for a single player is not routine. It tells you what Boreham Wood think of the 23-year-old, and what they believe he is still worth.

Abdulmalik's rise has been swift. Released by Millwall in 2024 without nailing down regular first-team football, he signed for Boreham Wood as a free agent and promptly became one of the National League's most dangerous attackers. The 2025-26 season brought 17 goals and 10 assists, numbers that would catch any scout's eye. He saved his brightest performance for the biggest stage: Boreham Wood reached the National League play-off final at Wembley, and Abdulmalik scored and assisted in the match. (BBC Sport)

The Wembley appearance mattered beyond the numbers. A play-off final is the match that decides promotion to the Football League — the gap between part-time budgets and full-time dreams. Abdulmalik delivering on that night is the kind of moment that turns a good season into a story clubs remember.

His pedigree explains why the talent was always there. Abdulmalik came through Millwall's academy and earned England caps at under-17 level. He helped Millwall's Under-21s win consecutive Professional Development League South titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24 — the PDL being the competitive youth league run by professional clubs to bridge the gap between academy football and the senior game. The first-team breakthrough at Millwall simply never came.

What makes Boreham Wood's stance striking is the gap between where Abdulmalik was two years ago and where he sits now. Released, without a club, looking for a way back into the professional game. Twelve months later, a Swedish top-flight side is offering a million pounds for his signature.

The transfer window remains open, and Djurgårdens' interest may not end here. Clubs fishing in the National League for talent often return with improved offers once an initial bid is refused. Boreham Wood have drawn their line, but the summer is long.

For now, Abdulmalik is theirs — a player who arrived for nothing and whose value has climbed into seven figures on the back of one electric season.