There’s a fun story out of Norway recently, when Eirik Granaas became the youngest ever Eliteserien player at 15 years and 90 days when he made his debut as a late substitution for Frederikstad last week. This made him 27 days younger than Martin Ødegaard, the previous record holder who debuted in 2014.

The young midfielder actually made his unofficial debut at 14 years old in a friendly match for Frederikstad. While I obviously haven’t been able to see much of the kid yet, the staff at Frederikstad clearly see something special in him. His older brother Sondre, is already making regular appearances for Molde at 18 and recently impressed at the Euro U19 tournament for Norway. Now this is no guarantee obviously, but we OFTEN see the younger sibling of multiple that play a sport turn out to be the better one. Playing against his (clearly skilled) older brother for his whole life in their yard will have done numbers for Eirik’s development, and it does make sense why Eirik seems to be ahead of his age group. This is a full footballing family, their father Lars was a former player for Mjøndalen and is their current manager. Both boys came through the Mjøndalen youth system before their transfers to Molde and Frederikstad.

Even if he is only getting a few minutes per match, this still means that Eirik has earned his coach’s trust enough to be getting subbed on in Eliteserien matches. He would have to be performing well in training against fully grown professionals to have been given that chance, which is a very promising sign. A full scouting report is not yet available, but I will be tracking Eirik Granaas’s progress very closely, and will look to watch him play when he starts being given more than a handful of minutes per match.

11 years after Martin Ødegaard set Norway’s record for youngest ever player, coming on as a promising young midfielder for Strømsgodset, Eirik Granaas has broken it in much the same circumstances. He is certainly one to watch, and I will keep you updated on his progress!

LM