Ex-Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko has been nominated for player of the year in his native Denmark.

The former Hoops ace re-joined FC Midtjylland from Celts back in 2018 and has been a stellar performer in the Danish Superliga this term.

Sviatchenko is a former winner of the award, having picked up the gong in 2015 before he made the move to Glasgow. Posting his attributes on their website, the authority on the award revealed their reasons behind the central defender's nomination.

"Erik Sviatchenko has had a really good 2019 in FCM," the statement begins. "After his return to the club in 2018 from Celtic, he has emerged as extremely important to his team.Ā 

"Erik is the epitome of FCM: dedicated, humble and ambitious. He is the natural leader and leads the team and leads. As a defender, he delivers every time as strong in melee and main game and is obviously central to FCM's corner kick - defensively and offensively."

Sviatchenko is up against Copenhagen's Carlos Zeca, who will face Celtic in the Europa League later this month, Brondby's Kamil Wilczek and 2018 winner Robert Skov.