Did you know that Norway is one of the countries that have produced a large number of great footballers, many of whom play in the English Premier League? There might be more players than you think. Here, you can get to know them and their careers a bit better.
Norway is known in the football world to have produced many great players through time. There’s one player that probably comes to mind when you think about Norwegian football at the moment. But there are actually a lot more great Norwegian players than just the one superstar. Several Norwegian football stars are among the most searched athletes. Some of the most searched athletes and footballers, in particular, are also some of the most popular profiles among fans.
Many fans like to follow the careers and successes of these amazing players. At the absolute top, you will obviously find the Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland, but also other significant Norwegian athletes like the golf player Viktor Hovland and tennis player Casper Ruud. If you’re mostly interested in football, the good news is that there are plenty of great Norwegian football players that you can get to know and support. If you don’t know them already, you can learn more about some of the best, most talented Norwegian footballers at the moment right here.
Erling Haaland
The biggest star of Norwegian football is, of course, the already legendary Erling Haaland. The 23-year-old player currently plays in the Premier League for Manchester City. He is considered to be one of the best players in the world and is one of the most valuable players at Manchester City. He broke the record for most scored goals in one season in his first season in the Premier League. He started his career in Molde, then Salzburg moved on to Borussia Dortmund and then Manchester City in 2022. He has already broken several records and was impressively a runner-up for this year's Ballon d’Or. There’s no doubt that this Norwegian player is the creme de la creme of Norwegian football and will continue on to have a long and impressive career that will make history.
Martin Ødegaard
Another impressive Norwegian player is the 25-year-old Martin Ødegaard. He has played for the Spanish club Real Madrid before moving on to the English club Arsenal, where is currently captain of the team. Arsenal signed him for no less than €35 million. He broke several records for being the youngest player to play for the Norwegian national team, where he is now also captain. Martin Ødegaard has already made an impressive career for himself and still has many years ahead of him. Since 2014, he has played 30 games for Norway’s senior national team.
Alexander Sørloth
Alexander Sørloth is another Norwegian player who has certainly made a name for himself on the international football scene. He is currently on loan from RP Leipzig to Real Sociedad in Spain. He is the son of another well-known Norwegian former footballer, Goran Sørloth. He is an incredibly fast player who is also great at scoring goals. This has earned him several trophies and honors. He has been on the Norwegian national team since 2016, where he has played 32 games and scored a total of 11 goals.
Kristofer Ajer
A name that is very broadly known in the football world is Kristofer Ajer. The 25-year-old player is currently playing for Brentford in the Premier League. He is a player known to be flexible and able to play as a midfielder and defender. He has done quite well in both positions. He is also a part of the national team, where he is a solid part of the team. He has been a part of the Norwegian senior national team since 2018 where he has played 23 games in total. When he was young and played in the best Norwegian league, he broke a record by becoming the youngest captain in the league’s history. He was close to turning 17 when he impressively made captain.
Sander Berge
Another Norwegian player in the Premier League is Sander Berger, who was also born in 1998. He currently plays defensive midfielder for Burnley, where he has been since 2023. Berge was signed in 2023 by the English club Sheffield United as their most expensive player, which proved to be a good investment before moving on to Burnley. He made his debut for the Norwegian senior national team in 2017 and, since then, has appeared in 42 games for Norway.
Mohamed Elyounoussi
Mohamed Elyounoussi is also known as Moi and is another of the best Norwegian players who have played in the Premier League. He has previously played for Southampton and Celtic on loan. Currently, he is playing for the Danish team F. C. København in Copenhagen. He began playing for the Norwegian senior national team in 2014 where he played in 54 games and scored 10 goals. He even scored a hat-trick for Norway in 2017, where they played against San Marino.
Leo Skiri Østigård
The 24-year-old Leo Skiri Østigård is another Norwegian player who has made a name for himself. He is currently playing in Seria A for the Italian team Napoli, where he plays as a centre-back. He started his senior career in Molde and soon moved on to Brighton. During his time in Brighton (2018-2022), he was on loan to several clubs, such as Stoke City and Genoa. In 2022, he transferred to Napoli, where he has played 19 games so far. He also plays for the Norwegian national team, where he has been playing for the senior team since 2022. This was the same year he scored a goal in his first-ever Champions League match.
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen
On this list is also the 23-year-old Marcus Holmgren Pedersen. This young Norwegian is currently on loan from Feyenoord to Sassuolo. He has played 17 games for the Italian team where he has been on loan since 2023. He started his youth career in HIF/Stein and moved on to Tromsø to pursue a football career. He also played for Tromsø in his senior career before moving on to Molde and then later Feyenoord. He is also a part of the Norwegian national team where he has played 20 matches since his senior debut in 2021. The loan agreement with the Italian club Sassuolo has an option to buy, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the young player will be moving to Italy on a more permanent basis.
The future of Norwegian football
As you can tell, there is a lot of Norwegian football talent on the international football scene. This is just a selection of some of the most known and successful players at the moment. All these players are still young and shaping their careers as they’re moving forward. There is no doubt that they will continue making a Norwegian impact on the international football scene and on the Norwegian national football team. They will be some of the players who will continue on to become an important part of the history books and of Norway's contribution to the amazing sport of football.
