Celtic's Norwegian transfer options: Perfect long-term Joe Hart replacement, 18-year-old winger with 'immense footwork' and more

We have seen some interesting young stars from Norway make their way to the top leagues in the last few years.

With the quality of the talent pool in the Eliteserien, it is evident that more will follow the route in years to come.

In this article, we will take a look at three players who would be valuable additions for Celtic and could potentially prove to be bargain buys.

Osame Sahraoui - Valerenga

Nationality: Norway

Age: 20 

Position: Left winger 

Preferred Foot: Right 

Transfermarkt Value: £1.35 million

Osame Sahraoui of Valerenga is one of the brightest prospects in the Eliteserien and has been catching the eye of many scouts around the world. He has made five appearances for the Norway under-21 international team, scoring once and assisting twice. He has played every game of their European Championships qualification since August 2021.

While Sahraoui’s primary position is on the left-wing, he has played on the left and right of a midfield three on several occasions.

As a creator, he has the ability to feed dangerous passes to his teammates which leads to shooting opportunities. As seen in the creativity visualisation above, he is in the top percentiles in terms of smart passing and through balls compared to his competition. His vision to find players by clipping the ball over the top or via the ground is astonishingly impressive.

However, there are times when his decision making ends up being erroneous and he makes sloppy passes turning the ball over in the final third. In addition, he is not a high volume shooter and averages only around 1.9 shots per 90. He does find himself being able to use both of his feet to shoot but his technique could probably improve as it tends to err on the weak side.

Sahraoui needs to get his output in terms of goals and assists higher if he is to break out and seal more approval but two goals and four assists in above 2300 minutes is not entirely bad.

In terms of his playing style, he loves dribbling and that seems to be another one of his strengths. He is capable of taking players on 1v1 and in packs and can wither away from tight spaces using his close control and good footwork. His technical ability is a standout.

Sahraoui uses his pace and quick accelerations to beat players in a race and also when running in behind. He can time his runs well and anticipates his teammates to put balls over the top into space. He can change his directions quickly and this is because of his great centre of gravity and body orientation. That said, the youngster isn’t very strong and gets easily brushed away by players who are bigger and stronger than him.

Sahraoui is an interesting player and could be a very smart buy for any club. He is a very confident player who believes in his abilities. That kind of mentality might be a welcome sign. A stint under Ange Postecoglu could elevate his level and help him get over his weaknesses.

Tobias Gulliksen - Strømsgodset

Nationality: Norway

Age: 18

Position: Left winger

Preferred Foot: Right 

Transfermarkt Value: £0.81 million

Tobias Gulliksen is the next player on the list and someone who is slowly making himself the talk of the league. The 18-year-old is an exciting left-winger who has attracted interest from clubs in the top five leagues.

Gulliksen plays on the left-wing for Strømsgodset and is not the typical winger who can run in behind or cause problems with his pace. The young Norwegian loves being on the ball and taking on players. As you can infer from the visualisation above, he averages over three completed dribbles per 90 and is a high volume dribbler.

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Gulliksen loves to use his dribbling ability and immense footwork. The interesting aspect pf the teenager's style is that he slows down whilst dribbling and uses the small gap in between his marker and himself to turn away or create space for shooting, when in a shooting zone.

Gulliksen registered five goals and an assist in just over 2000 minutes for Strømsgodset last season in the Eliteserien. At 18, those numbers are definitely a standout. He is not much of a high volume shooter but does wiggle into space when receiving the ball. He likes getting on the ball as often as he can and influences games.

Tobias Gulliksen kunne krone en enorm aften for @godset med DENNE perlen av en scoring! 👏🤩 pic.twitter.com/PgQWer1vrR

— Eliteserien (@eliteserien) November 1, 2021

Given Gulliksen's tender years, there are some glaring weaknesses in him which might need working on. He is frequently indecisive quite frequently and can slow down play unnecessarily.

He is a very hardworking player and tries to win duels but ends up giving away a lot of fouls too. In short, he's raw and needs a fair bit of polishing.

A potential move into a central role might also be helpful considering his style of play and is an option worth exploring. With that being said, Gulliksen is a player of serious talent Celtic should be looking at for the future.

Mads Christiansen - Lillestrøm

Nationality: Norway 

Age: 21 

Position: Goalkeeper 

Preferred Foot: Right 

Transfermarkt Value: £0.81 million

The final player we are looking at is Mads Christiansen from Lillestrøm, who is a young and potent keeper. Christiansen is very tall, standing at six foot six inches and the height definitely plays an advantage to an extent.

The above visualisation compares Christiansen to his competition including Joe Hart who is highlighted in green. Christiansen has been on the receiving end of shots which are worth an average of 0.29 xG which shows that he faces good quality shots. However, he does well and overperforms meaning he concedes fewer than expected and ranks highly in terms of goals prevented as shown by PSxG-GA in the visualisation.

The 21-year old is really good in his ball distribution although he mostly prefers going long. He is adept at finding players from distance and had a long pass accuracy of around 66% in the Eliteserien last season. He has different techniques of spraying the ball and can go higher if he is looking for a knock-on from his striker whilst also being able to clip with pace and move faster.

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He is also comfortable playing out from the back and is involved in the buildup when needed. He isn’t one to panic when closed down and assesses his options well. However, he does tend to not take too many risks, often electing to punt long when closed down.

In terms of his positioning, he is generally positioned well enough to collect the ball in the box if there is an overhit ball. However, he is not a very active sweeper as such.

Although his starting position is great, he prefers making saves closer to the line albeit not too close. He has exceptional awareness and positions himself really well. His height advantage also helps him cover the post well if the shots are higher.

His reflexes aren't the best but he seems to be improving in that area. The save above is an example of that where he uses his size and physique to cover the post well and save a certain goal.

Despite him being tall, he is quick to go to ground and can reach down well. He doesn’t take a longer jump, instead putting his foot opposite to the direction he is jumping to for a ground save before sweeping off the ball, helping him cover the area in his vicinity too.

An area where he could do well is his decision making when it comes to claims, catching and punching. He comes off his line for high balls if he is confident enough but he could do it more often than he is currently.

Overall, Christiansen would be a brilliant young addition for Celtic and would be a perfect candidate to replace Joe Hart in the long term.