Sondre Ørjasæter: Sarpsborg 08’s promising winger

Sondre Ørjasæter is a 20-year-old Norwegian left winger. After a superb season in OBOS Ligaen (Norwegian 2nd tier) last season, he moved from Sogndal IL to Sarpsborg 08. In his debut season in the Eliteserien (Norwegian top tier) he has been performing at a good level so far.

Ørjasæter is a technical player, capped for Norway U21, and with a very good potential.

With his team playing in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation, he occupies the left wing with an inverted winger role, i.e., he stays very open near the sideline and moves to the centre when in ball possession to use his best foot (right) either to pass, cross or shoot.

The young winger has a set of tools that make him one of the most promising players in the Eliteserien. He has a good technique, spatial awareness, first touch and ball control, hence he keeps the ball playable most of the times. Ørjasæter can change directions quickly and has a good acceleration when with the ball, making him effective when dribbling (2,7 successful dribbles per match; 62% success rate).    

The Sarpsborg 08 player has good passing skills and a very good vision that allow him to often choose the best option (1,3 key passes per match; 5 big chances created; 80% success rate in passing in oppositions half). He is a creative player thus unpredictable to the opposition. These qualities allow him to be quite efficient passing the ball.

He is not a selfish player. He is always looking to play with his teammates. Sondre Ørjasæter is tactically disciplined and has a good positioning (especially when defending). He has a decent work rate, teamwork, and a decent stamina, therefore it is normal to see him in his defensive third helping the team defending (53% duels won; 3,8 possession recoveries per match). On the pitch, he shows consistency and maturity above his age. 

The left winger is still a player in development. He doesn’t have much strength and aggressiveness. Once he develops those qualities, he’ll become a more intense player. He practically doesn’t use his weaker foot (left). If he manages to work on developing it and use it a bit more regularly, it would be a massive asset and it would give him more options thus becoming more unpredictable than he already is.

Sondre Ørjasæter has the potential to become a very good player and would benefit, at his own time, of playing in a more competitive league.

*stats from 2024 season