The Netherlands loves to make Norwegian coups. This is a special reason why:
Norwegian exports are a hit in Dutch football.
In recent years, there has been shuttle traffic from Norwegian clubs to the Netherlands.
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen and Fredrik Aursnes plays in Feyenoord. Aslak Fonn Witry, Håkon Evjen and Fredrik Midtsjø plays in AZ Alkmaar. Jørgen Strand Larsen and Sebastian Tounekti plays in Groningen. Sondre Tronstad plays in Vitesse Arnhem.
In PSV Eindhoven plays both Fredrik Oppegård and Mathias Kjølø. Until recently, he was also a Stabæk player Herman Geelmuyden part of the Dutch talent factory.
Ulrik Yttergård Jenssen plays for Willem II. Colin Rösler is in NAC Breda.
I add a large number of Norwegians more or less recently host in the country: Martin Ødegaard, Morten Thorsby, Jonas Svensson, Dennis Tørset Johnsen, Bjørn Maars Johnsen, Rafik Zekhnini, Nicolai Næss, Martin Samuelsen and more.
– In Norway we get very good agreements
Where England was the Norwegians’ favorite escape route in the 1990s, the Netherlands has in recent years sailed forward as the most typical destination – or intermediate stage – for a Norwegian football player.
Feyenoord’s Danish sports director Frank Arnesen traded this summer to Norwegian players from Molde: Marcus Holmgren Pedersen and Fredrik Aursnes for a total transfer fee of approximately 25 million kroner.
In the past, the Dutch top club has often set to Sweden and Denmark for reinforcements. But something has happened.
– Danish, Swedish and Norwegian players are in the same situation: They come from a weaker league, so you do not know how they will perform. You see the potential, but then the question is whether you can exploit it, says Arnesen to TV 2.
In recent years, the price of players from the Allsvenskan and especially the Danish Superliga has skyrocketed.
– 16-year-olds from Denmark have in recent years been sold for two or three million euros. I can not compete for the price. Then we have to look elsewhere. And in Norway we get very good agreements, says Arnesen and elaborates:
– The market in Norway is normal. In Denmark it is far too high. It’s too much risk. The biggest club can do it, but for us it is a big risk because maybe more than 50 percent of the players do not reach the potential.
The Danish scout Bjarne Hansen specializes in the Scandinavian market and has especially followed Norway in recent years. He follows players from the age of 12.
– We are ahead thanks to him. He has always known the player for many years, says Arnesen.
According to TV 2’s information, he was also very interested in Odd’s talented midfielder John Kitolano this summer.
– Norway is a huge market at the moment, the sports director concludes.
PSV has hired a Norwegian scout
If you visit the facility of PSV Eindhoven, it is easy to understand why many Norwegian young boys choose to travel there to further develop their football careers.
TV 2 meets academy director Ernest Faber and recruitment manager Roland Vroomans at the spectacular training facility, which talks about different football pitches only for the academy teams.
In recent years, several Norwegian players have taken advantage of the facilities: Kjølø and Oppegård are mentioned under contract with the club, Geelmuyden also spent some years there, and the super talent Andreas Schjelderup was on a number of training stays at PSV.
– We follow the players from the age of 15 at national gatherings in Porsgrunn. We are looking for interesting players for us, contacting parents and agents to get them here, says recruitment manager Vroomans.
Like Arnesen, he points out that Norwegian prices are within reach.
– Norway is still a good market for us to find talent and bring them to the Netherlands for a reasonable price, he says.
– What is it that makes Norwegian players so attractive to you?
– First and foremost the quality of the players. But Norwegian players also have a culture that allows them to adapt very easily and learn Dutch quickly, says Vroomans.
– We like each other. When I go to Oslo, it’s like my second home. It’s nice, quiet, the country is beautiful. The mentality and how they prepare the players makes it interesting for us to pick them up. The quality is very high and there are good academies there, extra academy director Faber.
The club has taken further steps to gain full control of the Norwegian market: This summer, Hallvar Thoresen was hired as a scout based in Norway and responsible for Scandinavia.
– Before, we have had scouts who have traveled around from the Netherlands. Now we want to see what it will be like to have a scout based in Norway, says Vroomans.
But both the two PSV colleagues and Frank Arnesen are the only ones on one thing: Norwegian players at spot prices are hardly a phenomenon that will last.
– First, the young Swedish players became very expensive. Then it was Denmark. Now maybe the same thing will happen to Norway, says Vroomans.
He refers to Antonio Nusa’s (16) transfer from Stabæk to Club Brugge for more than 30 million kroner.
– I think it will affect Norwegian prices in the future, says Vroomans.
– You are a smart country, so you will probably do as the countries around you. I do not want that to happen, but it is normal, says Faber, who has already come up with new brands to make bargains in.
– But I will not reveal that on TV, he laughs.
Van Dijk around da Haaland broke his fingers
Tv2 play
Kjølø: – Much better than in Norway
TV 2 meets the Norwegian duo Kjølø and Oppegård at home in the former apartment. Although they admit that life in the Netherlands can be lonely, especially during a pandemic, they are delighted with the choice of PSV as a development club.
Both left Vålerenga at a young age.
– Everything in the club was so professional and much better than I feel it was in Norway. Coaching apparatus, quality of the players and not least training facilities we have, which is great, says Kjølø about PSV life.
– I feel that the Netherlands are very good at developing young players with how they follow the players. In a way, we live a professional life, says Oppegård.
Tuesday night, the Netherlands and Norway are bitter enemies. But there is no doubt that the nations have developed good cooperation on player development.
Because even though PSV is attracting young players from Vålerenga, academy director Ernest Faber says that they want to develop a long-term relationship with VIF and other Norwegian clubs.
In November, the Oslo club will visit Eindhoven to exchange experiences.
– We are busy sharing knowledge with Norwegian clubs, says Faber.