Could Ronny Deila turn to his homeland this summer to strengthen Celtic ahead of their UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign? Norwegian football blogger Christian Wulff looks at the latest speculation surrounding Viking Stavanger’s Veton Berisha and what he could bring to the Scottish champions.
After some initial rumours on Twitter on Saturday afternoon local Stavanger paper Aftenbladet, who has close links with people inside the Viking organisation, confirmed last night that there was a least some substance in the speculation that Celtic were looking at signing striker, Veton Berisha.
In one way, it would be strange if Celtic were not considering a move for Berisha. Having turned 21 in April, the 5ft 8in forward has been regarded as a very promising talent ever since he made his debut for Viking in the top flight almost exactly four years ago. He has followed in the footsteps of his one year old brother, Valon, who also made his debut at 17 for Viking before moving to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria at 19.
Born and raised in Norway by parents from Kosovo, Veton, unlike his brother, is still not tied to Norway on a senior international level having yet to be capped by them, although he is a regular feature in the country’s U-21 side.
Veton has really caught the eye this year with a very impressive start to the Norwegian season, finally taking the step up from talented youngster to a genuine star and leader. Before this year he had 11 goals in 80 league appearances for Viking (in 54 starts). After the first 11 games this season he has added 7 more goals, with an additional two assists.
But Berisha’s influence at Viking is about much more than purely adding goals, coach Kjell Jonevret recently described him as ‘both the heart and the motor of the team’.
It’s easy to see why.
Berisha is a high-energy forward who works opposition defenders continuously and also never shrinks away from his own defensive duties when needed. His ability to, even at the end of games, produce powerful sprints across the pitch is testament to both his remarkable fitness levels and dedication to his team.
But he’s not purely an attacking work-horse, possessing more than a touch of creativity and is now also starting to show the finishing abilities needed to become a forward of international standard. Considering his relative short height he’s also a very good header of the ball, scoring both his goals in last week’s match against Vålerenga that way.
Having seemingly no intention of renewing his contract which expires at the end of June – the development compensation fee due to Viking would likely only be a few hundred thousand pounds – Berisha is naturally attracting a lot of attention across Europe. His playing style also means he is an especially logical link for Celtic; he could potentially play in any of the positions across the front four, even as a lone striker (he plays up front in a 4-4-2 for Viking), but the combination of high work-rate, creativity and finishing seems a perfect fit for one of the wide attaching positions in Ronny Deila’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
Deila was in Stavanger this week to give a lecture and hold coaching session, although it is unknown whether he met with Berisha or his representatives. It can be difficult to cut through the smoke and mirrors of transfer window speculation and the Berisha rumours might well end up being another false dawn.
But it is at least a link that makes sense on so many levels; a young, talented player that would embrace the ethos and style of a Deila team, available for a fee way below his real value.
Berisha is still untested on a higher level, not yet afforded the opportunity to face international opponents either through European cup competitions or in senior appearances for Norway.
Even so, there is likely to be enough evidence of his potential – and the cushion of a relatively low financial commitment – to make him a risk worth taking for Celtic.
If Veton Berisha is to become the first player Deila brings over to Glasgow from Norway very few could argue with the logic of the choice. The actual evidence of it being a smart signing or not will as always only be tested on the pitch.
Scotzine article