For example, the Norwegian super talents Antonio Nusa (17), Isak Hansen–Aarøen (18), Kristian Arnstad (19), Oscar Bobb (19) and Leo Hjelde (19) are all players who are predicted to have great careers, but have left little money in Norwegian clubs. Only Nusa, who went to Club Brugge for a total package of around NOK 30 million in August 2021, has left a double-digit number of millions with the club he left. And behind these you find a number of other great Norwegian talents who, if they are bought for big money in a few years, will leave the transfer fee with foreign clubs instead of Norwegian ones. Many cases Here are just a few examples, all with U-nationals for Norway: 16-year-old Sindre Walle Egeli left Sandefjord last summer and signed for Nordsjælland. Walle Egeli is seen as an enormous talent and perhaps “the next big one” from Norway. The 16-year-old Edvard Sundbø Pettersen recently left Sandefjord and signed for Midtjylland. 16-year-old Sander Evjen-Brostrøm left Rosenborg last summer and signed for FC Midtjylland. Stopper talent Ethan Amundsen-Day left Fredrikstad in the summer of 2021 and signed for FC Copenhagen, where he remains. Oliver Braude left Vålerenga as a 16-year-old in the summer of 2021 and signed for Heerenveen, where he remains. According to Nettavisen, 16-year-old Markus Seim-Monsen is leaving Stabæk for Nordsjælland next summer. – Must be left with something Recently, Andreas Schjelderup, who left Glimt in favor of Danish Nordsjælland in the summer of 2020, was sold to Benfica for a transfer fee of around NOK 150 million. This is the latest in a series of examples of young players leaving Norwegian football early, a trend that recently prompted Håkon Grøttland, head of coaching and player development at the NFF, to sound the alarm that Norwegian football is losing a lot of money due to talent leaving of the country before they have broken through in the Eliteserien. – Norwegian football is now being worked on so well, and great resources are being spent on development, that our clubs must be left with something in order for us to continue developing. Now too many kroner and øre are disappearing from Norwegian football, warned Grøttland. Håkon Grøttland fears Norwegian clubs will lose large sums of money. Photo: Dag Robert Johansen / news Knutsen: – Never seen his mate Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen felt this himself when his former player Schjelderup recently signed for Benfica. Knutsen was far from surprised when the transfer went through. – The way he developed when he was with us in Glimt, I have never seen the likes. He took the level and stood out in training at an extremely young age, Knutsen recalls to news. But instead of staying in Bodø/Glimt, Schjelderup chose to go to Danish North Zealand when he turned 16, much to the great despair of the northerners. – Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, says Kjetil Knutsen today. – I suppose you think he would have developed just as well in Glimt? – I think so. – In that sense, Grøttland has a point, you lost quite a bit of money because he left early? – Yes, but we shall not measure everything in kroner and øre. What Grøttland says is absolutely correct, but it is now the case that the players make their own choices, and we have to respect that. We very much wanted him to stay, and were very confident that we would make the conditions right for him, that he could further develop in Glimt and take the step from us to Benfica, but they chose a slightly different path. That must be respected, and for him it has proven that they made the right choice, says the Glimt manager. Kjetil Knutsen says that he has never seen the look from a young player like the one Schjelderup showed at Glimt training. Photo: Editing news/NTB Knutsen, on the other hand, completely agrees with Grøttland that action must be taken to ensure that the talents flourish in the Eliteserien before they leave the country, which will result in completely different price tags when they disappear. – I think our product is so good now, so much is invested in resources around the clubs, that going out to play in academies abroad, versus having a senior everyday life in Norway where you get to play top football before you take that step… If you are going out to join an academy in England, Germany or whatever, I think that what we have to offer them in Norway is just as good, says Knutsen to news. Gotta get the players to become news’s football expert and Viking player Kristoffer Løkberg thinks it’s an interesting debate. Personally, he is convinced that a young player will benefit just as much from playing a couple of years in the Eliteserien before turning his nose abroad, versus leaving early. – Here you avoid becoming one of many in an academy or on a second team. More money will be left in the club coffers at Norwegian clubs and they will not be left with a few hopeful percentages for resale, says Løkberg. – Do you understand the alarm being raised that too many young boys are disappearing from Norwegian football? – Of course, but at the same time we have to be careful not to push the conscience onto the individual players. It can’t be that we ask young players to think about the club’s finances, and we can’t say that “if you leave now, you’re not putting much money into your club, money we deserve”. Rather, we have to become better at Norwegian football to, when we get enormous talents who make a name for themselves at foreign clubs, offer them a proper contract and make things easier in everyday life so that they choose to stay, says the Viking player. Kristoffer Løkberg believes the clubs must look at themselves in the mirror. Photo: Nicolai Eid Trondal And this is where the key lies, he believes. Norwegian club managers must become better at identifying which players they think will succeed – and take the necessary steps early enough to make them stay longer. – In some cases, a player is not appreciated and seen until it is too late. You can make a real breakthrough, and only then will the sporting director come down to the dressing room and say he wants to extend your contract. Whereas two months earlier you were freezing cold, and the club just thought it was great that you had a cheap contract that they just let roll and go, says Løkberg. – In my mind, it seems very strange. The news expert and the elite series profile have also seen several examples of young players who think they are second choice and just need an injury to get the chance, but then the club buys a replacement instead of trusting that the the young player is good enough as double coverage. He then understands that the players choose to try their luck elsewhere. – The clubs must be willing to invest in the players they believe in, and that must happen when they discover that the player has potential, not wait until it is too late and the player only has a few months left on the contract, Løkberg points out. – We see a number of examples of young Norwegian players going to Denmark, is the level there that much better than in Norway? – In my mind it seems very strange, but it is difficult to understand each individual case and know how valued and prioritized they felt in the club they were in here at home. There may be various individual reasons. But in my mind, there should be no reason for them, if they are about to break through on an elite league team as 17-18-year-olds, to choose Denmark over Norway. Nusa: – I understand the clubs Super talent Antonio Nusa is one of those who chose to leave Norwegian football at a young age. He has already managed to score in the Champions League after he left Stabæk and signed for Club Brugge. – I understand that the clubs will be left with something, but I think it’s about what each individual player thinks is best for their development. Whether it’s going out right away or staying, it’s different for everyone. My situation with Stabæk was right for everyone, it was the right timing for me to try something new, and Stabæk got a good price and was happy with it, says Nusa to news. Håkon Grøttland fully understands that it is sometimes the right choice to leave a Norwegian club early. And he does not think that it is necessarily the case that development suffers if you get most matching at U level instead of playing elite series football in Norway. – But as a general matter, we would say that it is best to “round” the Eliteserien first, says Grøttland.
ttn-69
Sounding the alarm about Norwegian super talents – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
