– He is only 17 and has not yet played a game for us. But I am absolutely sure that we could have sold him for several million euros already. Lillestrøm’s sporting director Simon Mesfin would prefer not to place too high expectations on the club’s upcoming star Kparobo Arierhi, but sometimes the gut feeling is too good. Now there are many indications that the relegation-threatened elite series club has shot the golden bird. In early 2024, LSK entered into a transfer agreement with Beyond Limits Football Academy regarding a future transfer for the 17-year-old Arierhi. Has shot tremendous speed A lot has happened since then. The Nigerian youngster has not been on the lazy side since the deal went through. The 17-year-old has wreaked havoc in several age-specific tournaments both in Sweden and Italy, been named player of the year in the Nigerian national league (second highest level) and caused a stir with his performances. CAUSES ATTENTION: Kparobo Arierhi makes more and more headlines. Photo: Facsimile Ballgist.com – A young football sensation He was recently selected for the Nigerian U20 national team, and there too he impressed. In a major West African tournament, he recently scored three goals in four games and was, among other things, the match winner against Ghana when he scored both of Nigeria’s goals in the 2-1 victory in the final. – A young football sensation, are the words the Nigerian football website Ballgist uses about the upcoming LSK player. The Nigerian journalist Adepoju Tobi Samuel, with over 120,000 followers on social media, writes: – A talent from the top shelf. Our country must do everything to see him develop further. He is our future number 9, writes Samuel. He has not yet responded to news’s inquiry. OPTIMIST: Simon Mesfin is optimistic about the LSK future of Kparobo Arierhi. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB LSK already notices that the interest is hot for the player they are waiting for to wear the yellow and black jersey. – Clubs call Atta (Aneke) all the time now, but everyone has to deal with us. He was actually going to visit here during this period, but we allowed him to go to the national team meeting instead. We wouldn’t have done that if we hadn’t felt 100 percent in control, says Mesfin. – Interest from top 5 leagues Football agent Atta Aneke confirms that there is increasing interest in Arierhi. Speaking to news, he says that clubs in the top 5 leagues in Europe have also inquired about the striker. – There has been quite a lot of interest in him all along, really. Interest has of course grown, but I think most people now know that his academy has an agreement with LSK, says Aneke to news. – You have been working towards the African market for a long time. How would you rate Arierhi against other talents you have seen or worked with? – If you only base yourself on the tryout he did and what he has shown afterwards, I rank him as one of the very greatest talents. There is a lot that affects how well a player succeeds, but he has all the prerequisites to become one of the best, says Aneke. On social media, the youngster is becoming a hot name. Here are some selected examples of what is being written about the great talent: The agreement is that he will become an LSK player on the day he turns 18, specifically 11 January 2025. Fifa rules mean that European clubs like LSK have to wait until African players are 18 before they can be collected in Norway. According to LSK sports manager Mesfin, a number of European clubs were looking for Arierhi long before the Åråsen club landed the transfer agreement with his academy. But due to good cooperation with Aneke, who enjoys great trust in the African football market, both Arierhi and the Beyond Limits Football Academy settled on Lillestrøm as the next step. – This academy has a rich owner who intends to give these young lads opportunities, and doesn’t think of front money right away. They could have demanded more for Arierhi than they got from us, says Mesfin to news. Sensational tests It was last winter that the Åråsen club realized they had got something special in their hands. Arierhi joined a training camp in Marbella and scored goals in training and in internal matches. LSK was so surprised by Arierhi that they decided to conduct a sprint measurement of the youngster. Then the tests showed that he was close to the times of lightning fast Mathis Bolly, says Mesfin. – There are clubs from all over Europe who want him now. But they don’t contact me, because then they know what they will get in response, so it is Atta (Aneke) who receives the most inquiries. But they try, says Mesfin. HAPPY: Simon Mesfin is excited about what Kparobo Arierhi can accomplish in Norwegian football. Photo: Astrid Pedersen / NTB Guarantees LSK games Lillestrøm currently “only” has an agreement with his academy, but must wait until January before Arierhi himself puts pen to paper and signs a personal contract with LSK. But Mesfin feels very confident that no reefs will appear in the sea. – He is an LSK player in 2025, you can quote me on that. – Regardless of how much money another club puts on the table? – Yes, LSK has no ambition to sell him now. He is such a great talent, an exceptional talent. There is no doubt that we could sell him for quite a few millions now. But the reason we don’t want that is that we want to develop him, because we believe that he will be a sale for us in the future who will break all records in LSK, says Mesfin. – Does it matter for Arierhi’s LSK future if it ends up in the 1st division next season? – No, we are determined that he plays for us anyway, says the LSK sports manager. Mesfin says he has full confidence in Atta Aneka and his assurances that Arierhi will sign for the yellow and black in January. – But if he wants to sign for another club, then we still have the rights to him, emphasizes the LSK sports manager. Sent Bergen to the sky with this long shot 00:31 Wiping the pitch with a helicopter: – Crazy idea 00:53 Norwegian 12-year-old got NBA opportunity: – Was very nervous 01:14 Cancer sufferer Filip got to meet Haaland 01:36 Show more Published 09.11. 2024, at 14.39
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