Kjetil Knutsen has talked a lot about the wear and tear experienced by Glimt. But the summer’s biggest signing is hardly allowed to get on the pitch.
Reporting from Bodø
- Glimt talks about wear and tear, but has hardly rolled: only 14 from the start in the Champions League.
- Major acquisition Mathias Jørgensen (30-40 million) has 484 minutes in total, but only two since 17 September.
- Knutsen says the newcomers need time for the intensity; Klynge and Riisnæs have played little, and Brynhildsen is injured.
25-year-old Mathias Jørgensen had to keep his bubble jacket on again to stay warm in Bodø on Tuesday.
In the days before the match, there was talk of a Glimt team that lacked energy and that had not rolled enough on the team, according to several. Against Monaco, Kjetil Knutsen chose to drive again
Nevertheless, Glimt has barely used the players they brought in this summer.
- Mathias Jørgensen (25) was brought from Aalborg for a guaranteed sum of 30 million this summer, which can rise to close to 40. He has played 10 matches for Glimt this autumn, divided into 484 minutes. Since September 17, he has played two minutes.
- Anders Klynge (24) was brought in from Silkeborg when his contract expired. He stands by 13 games distributed on 265 minutes since the transfer this summer.
- Magnus Riisnæs (21) was taken from Vålerenga for a sum of around NOK 30 million. He stands by 10 matches distributed on 328 minutes since the transfer this summer. Has had several short periods of injury throughout the autumn.
- Ola Brynhildsen managed to play one match (and provide two assists) after the transfer from Danish football before he was injured. He still is.
– I understand that it will be a topic, and it is certainly an interesting topic, opens Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen when VG asks about the options he has available.
Jørgensen is one of the most expensive signings for Norwegian football ever.
– What is a big challenge for those who come in season is that they need some time. To learn our identity and to adapt to our intensity. When there is such a tight match schedule, there is too much activity, so I think he (Jørgensen) needs a bit more time, says Knutsen.
Bodø/Glimt’s success coach
When Jørgensen signed, Glimt’s success coach stated that the Dane “has an extreme power in him”.
– He has an X-factor in his game, but has not been able to bring out his best in Glimt yet. But that doesn’t mean he won’t do it, says Knutsen.
Figures from Sofascore show that it is only three clubs in the Champions League which has varied less in the starting line-up than Glimt, which has used 14 different players from the start in the first four games.
Chelsea, who have the most, have used 22.
VG thus wonders if Knutsen is satisfied with the team he entered Glimt’s Champions League season with, after a transfer window where they spent over NOK 60 million.
– Yes, in a way I am. But everyone wants more. My starting point is that we do everything together – and work with those we have, says Knutsen.
Glimt sold Sondre Sørli and Jeppe Kjær this summer.
– Player logistics are becoming more and more difficult. We try and we continuously work on it throughout the year. We have an exciting group with potential, so you always hoped that certain players were more in top form when you entered the biggest tournament. But that is not always the case. There are complex explanations, says Knutsen.
Jostein Gundersen is among the players who have struggled with injury this autumn. Against Monaco, he came on at half-time, before being sent off ten minutes before the end.
– I think we have a fantastic squad. We show in every match that we are competitive. We play against world stars and we are Bodø/Glimt. We show that we have something to do here, but we have even more learning to absorb if we are really going to fight higher up in the Champions League, says Gundersen to VG.
Flash stop
Only five teams in the Champions League have more possession than Glimt in the first four games.
Therefore, Gundersen also makes an analysis of what they have really learned from the first four games in the Champions League.
– There is a lot of quality in both boxes. That is where it is decided. We are perhaps the best in the field game in almost all the matches, but where it is decided we have been severely punished, says Gundersen.