First Scotland robbed three points off Norway win Olso.
Now the Scottish champions have nicked one of the nation’s top talents. Former Aberdeen ace Thomas Solberg is still feeling a bit sore after Steve Clarke’s boys snatched a last-gasp victory in the Euro 2024 qualifying clash a couple of weeks ago to steal a march on the road to Germany. And now the Norwegian ex-Don reckons one of his old rivals has managed to pinch one of the best prospects in his country.
Odin Thiago Holm checked in at Parkhead last week on the same day Brendan Rodgers took his bow back in the hotseat. The return of the manager hogged most of the headlines but Solberg is convinced the kid will soon make his own. Holm arrived with a £2.6million price tag and a reputation as one of Norway’s brightest young talents. The 20-year-old turned down offers to head to academies in England with Man United and Liverpool and rejected advances of Juventus in favour of first-team football at Valerenga.
It paid off as Holm made almost 100 top-team appearances to earn his big move to Scotland. And Solberg insists the playmaker will make as big an impression as Clarke’s boys did in the last few minutes in Oslo.
He said: “Let’s not talk about the Scotland game! The way the match ended was a bit of a shock, even if Norway did not play very well. The points were stolen!
“I don’t know if you could say Celtic have stolen Holm but they have managed to get a very good player. I’m sure he will do well there. He’s someone who has been talked about for a long time in Norway. When he was young, maybe 15 or 16, there was a lot of interest in him from teams around Europe.
“Liverpool and Manchester United invited him over and while Juventus tried to sign him. I’m sure Inter Milan were looking at him as well. Holm decided to stay and it was smart as he played a lot of first-team games when he was still a teenager.
“From what I’ve been told he is a very strong character and is very ambitious. If you speak to people here, they believe he is one of the best young talents in Norway. Celtic have done very well to sign him.”
The Parkhead side have an admirable strike rate for signings in Norway. Solberg was a hero at Pittodrie and he saw fellow countrymen earn similar status with Celtic, such as hitman Harald Brattbakk, who helped stop Rangers claiming 10-in-a-row.
Stefan Johansen was a title winner and Player of the Year before he headed down south, while Kris Ajer arrived a talented midfielder and departed as a Premier League class centre-back. Solberg reckons Holm is in the perfect place to take his career to the next level – and has the ideal boss. The former Dons man watched Ajer flourish under Rodgers and tipped Holm to do the same.
Solberg said: “A lot of young people in Norway watch a lot of the Premier League and Holm will know all about Brendan. He’ll be well aware he is a top coach with a lot of experience at big clubs.
“I have no doubt he will benefit greatly from working under him. Look at the development of Ajer. He was also regarded as a youth player with a lot of potential when he left Norway. But you can see now how good it was for him to be at Celtic under Rodgers.
“When Ajer went to Celtic he had been playing as a central-midfielder at Start, but he moved back and became a top-class defender. Johansen was similar. They were young players in Norway and they moved to Glasgow. They won trophies and played at a high level.
“Both of them went on to the English Premier League and both of them have been captains of the national side. You would hope Holm can do similar. The Scottish league is a great pathway to England for a lot of players, especially at a club like Celtic.
“I remember my time at Aberdeen and playing there in front of 60,000 fans. There is a huge level of expectation and the demands are high. That can be difficult for young players but it helps them learn and develop, and if they can do well in that environment they can go anywhere.”
Solberg insisted Holm won’t be wanting to become the next Johansen or Ajer – as he’ll be his own man. He said: “Odin has to be true to himself but he will because he looks to be that type of character. There is no point comparing him to other player as he has his own style and attributes. He is still developing, you never know how players will develop.
“A lot of young Norwegians are going abroad earlier and are confident in their abilities – just look at Erling Haaland. But I don’t know why Norwegians seem to do well in Scotland. Maybe because the weather is similar!”
