Football Season Guide

Eliteserien
Norway
Eliteserien
2018
Sarpsborg 08
Clean filter

Sarpsborg 08

In


Aslak Falch (gk), Norrköping), Alexander Tveter (att), Halmstad), Nikola Tkalcic (def), Norrköping), Gaute Höberg Vetti(mid), Nest-Sotra), Orri Sigurdur Ómarsson (def), Valur), Kristoffer Larsen (mid), Lyngby), Björn Inge Utvik (def), Sogndal), Harmeet Singh (mid), Kalmar), Mikkel Agger (att), Thisted), Ronnie Schwartz (att), Waasland-Beveren), Joonas Tamm (def), Flora - loan), Usman Mohammed (mid)

Out


Krépin Diatta (r)(att), Club Brugge), Sigurd Rosted (r)(def), Gent), Jonas Lindberg (sp)(att), GAIS), Ole Hansen (sp)(def), Krakeröy), Henri Toivomäki (sp)(def), KuPS), Tor Öyvind Hovda (sp)(mid), Hönefoss), Alexander Groven (sp)(def), Hönefoss), Stefan Cupic (sp)(gk), Vozdovac), Kachi Mbedule (sp)(att), Sandnes Ulf), Andreas Albech (sp)(def), Vendsyssel), Emerson Spinola (mid), Aalesund), Olav Öby (mid), Kongsvinger), Nicolai Poulsen (sp)(mid), Randers - end of loan)

Sarpsborg enjoyed an exhilarating and exciting last season where they captured the imagination with attacking football and fearlessness. Yet their season petered out somewhat late on and a loss in the Cup final meant that their season ended on a sour note. But Geir Bakke will be motivated to get this team firing again and establish them as one of the stronger sides in the division after the excellent last campaign. He is facing a massive rebuilding job as a big part of the squad has moved on to new adventures and there will be definitely a period of fine-tuning and rebuilding in the early weeks and months of the campaign. The supremely exciting striker Krepin Diatta and the defensive rock Sigurd Rosted are the two major departures, both moving to Belgium. The other host of departures are mostly squad players that will not hurt as much but there is still lots of work to do for Bakke to mould the current crop into the sort of effective and purposeful unit that Sarpsborg were last season. Keeping hold of the likes of Matti Lund Nielsen and Patrick Mortensen as a source of continuation has been vital while Kristoffer Zachariessen will seek to build on a brilliant debut season for the club, where he emerged as a midfield dynamo with incredible consistency and great output. Ronnie Schwarz is the most notable new additions, a nomadic Danish striker who has been hampered by injuries lately but definitely possesses real quality. Harmeet Sigh could become a great addition in midfield while Nikola Tkacic and Aslak Falch arrive from Sweden, where they won the title with Norrköpping just a couple of seasons ago. Kristoffer Larsson is another very interesting addition on the wing while Estonian international Joonas Tamm may develop into a regular at centre-back. Overall, Sarpsborg have a very fresh look and it s risky to make too many predictions for now but they look good for another finish in the top six. The team earned impressive wins over Kalmar, Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin in their friendly games against foreign opposition.

Target


Will aim to push for Europe again this season but could be a challenge keeping the standards from last season.