After the review of what was the 2023 season of the Eliteserien (Norwegian League) more focused on the competition itself, it is important to give a notion of the existing talent and market.

In the last five years, the Norwegian top tier league has been dominated by Bodø/Glimt (3 league titles in the last 4 years) and Molde (2 league titles). The participation in the groups phase and later stages of the UEFA competitions provides a big amount of money for the participating clubs. As the club budgets are small, earning a few million euros from UEFA makes a big difference.

In terms of finding talent, acquire it and develop it, Bodø’s team has been better than everyone else.

Despite this, the players with enough talent to play in a higher-level often leave at young age. In terms of performance and decisiveness, experience makes the difference in the Eliteserien.

This season, Amahl Pellegrino was the league’s top goal scorer and the one with most assists. Bodø/Glimt’s left winger was the most influential player in the league, with 24 goals and 14 assists. Amahl participated directly in 38 of the 78 goals of his team and helped them win the title. The 33-year-old has good positioning, vision and reads the game well, finding openings to assist or score. Despite not being a very fast player, the intelligence in his movements is perceptible and he appears often in the right spot. Pellegrino has good technique, finishes very well (23% conversion) and has a gifted right foot that allows him to place his shots well and score from set pieces and medium range.

Also decisive, for Viking FK, was Zlatko Tripic. The 31-year-old, with 13 goals and 10 assists, was the soul and the leader of Stavanger’s team. The left winger uses both feet, has good vision, positioning and reading of the game. The Viking’s captain is also very good in set pieces. He helped the team reach the 1st position just to fail spectacularly in the last 8 matches (2W, 1D, 5L).

There were some quality players that can further develop their skills and affirm themselves. Al-Saed (11 goals, 2 assists and 49% successful dribbles per match) is one of the best dribblers of Eliteserien. He plays as a left winger (inverted winger) and likes to come to the middle to use his preferred foot. The player of Sandefjord has speed, acceleration, technique and would benefit from playing in a bigger team.

Patrick Berg (3 goals, 6 assists, 7,4 recoveries of possession per game) is already one of the best players that are still in Norway. He has character, positioning, pass quality, vision and is determinant to secure the midfield of Bodø/Glimt’s team.

Albert Grønbæk (9 goals, 7 assists, 54% duels won, 56% successful dribbles per match) has good vision, technique and passing ability. The movement off the ball and how he appears between lines help him to be successful. In my opinion, it is unlikely that he’ll stay much longer in the Eliteserien.

Teams are now defining the next season, some changes will happen in all teams and everything will start from zero. The Eliteserien kicks off on 31st of March.