Well, it’s been quite the last few weeks since my last article here… However, the Eliteserien will return at some stage (Likely to be in June now) and due to the COVID-19 delay, we’re likely to see a number of double gameweeks due to fixtures having to be more congested this season.
Rotation will likely be heavy and formerly underused players may be given more minutes in the first team in order to allow clubs to rest their star players more often.
Due to this, there are now a number of players in the Eliteserien Fantasy game who could potentially be good picks to have either in your starting XI or as an option from the bench for those weeks when clubs decide to rest their star men.
Here are some players who look to be great value in the game this season and are also valued at a maximum price of 5.5.
Sulayman Bojang (4.5, Sarpsborg 08)
- Looks set to have somewhat of a breakout season for S08 this year
- Speedy full back likely to play on the right wing back role in S08’s 3-4-3
- May not start every game this year but will certainly get minutes this season
Sulayman Bojang may not be a name well known to regular Eliteserien Fantasy players as he spent the 2019 season away from Sarpsborg, playing for Kongsvinger in the OBOS Ligaen. He generally failed to impress during this loan spell and was often left out of the sides’ matchday squad.
However, so far in Sarpsborg’s 2020 pre-season Bojang has been one of the more impressive players featuring on the right hand side of the clubs’ new 3-4-3 formation. Due to a lack of competition in this position, he may end up featuring heavily in this role this season.
Over on Reverse Nisselue, we spoke with Sarpsborg’s Sporting Director Thomas Berntsen about Bojang and the possible impact he could have this season and Berntsen was keen to talk up Bojang’s ability and potential to become a key player this season.
Valued at just 4.5, Bojang is a player I am sure many will consider for their Fantasy teams this season. I personally think his value could comfortably rise this season especially if he becomes a regular in the XI for Sarpsborg.
Hugo Vetlesen (5.5, Stabaek)
- 20 year old wonderkid who already has over 70 Eliteserien appearances
- Usually a central midfielder, but could be used out wide in a 4-3-3 this season
- Poor goal record historically, but could improve on this in his new role
Hugo Vetlesen has long been one of my favourite Eliteserien youngsters. He debuted for Stabaek in 2017 and has been a regular in their squad ever since. Aged 20 now, it is fair to say that Vetlesen has yet to fully live up to his hype, with managers often playing him out of position leading to a lack of consistency in his performances.
Vetlesen may have fallen behind in the Stabaek pecking order in midfield, with the likes of Luc Kassi (6.0), Tortol Lumanza (5.5) and Emil Bohinen (6.0) now clearly ahead of him in the pecking order in midfield.
In pre-season so far this year Vetlesen has often featured out wide in Stabaek’s 4-3-3 formation. This has led to him being increasingly involved in much more of Stabaek’s attacking play than he would normally have done were he playing in central midfield.
It’s about time Vetlesen delivered on his promise and he has a great opportunity to do just that in 2020 for Stabaek, where he will surely continue to get regular minutes in the first team. At 5.5 he may not be someone for your first XI, but is certainly a player to monitor at the start of the season at least as he could quickly become great value for money.
Mustapha Fofana (5.5, Stromsgodset)
- Young prospect for Stromsgodset, likely to start as 3rd choice but could become 2nd
- Scored his first Eliteserien goal in 2019
- Able to play in most forward positions and is a natural striker
Finding a striker for 5.5 or under in the 2020 Eliteserien Fantasy is a very tough ask. Many forwards have had their prices jacked up and are highly inflated at this stage due to the lack of quality new additions to the league this season & many high profile departures.
Mustapha Fofana is a player I watched closely in 2019. He may not have started a game for Stromsgodset but tended to look lively off the bench and certainly made an impression on those watching him.
A skilful forward able to pick up space between the opposition lines, Fofana managed to get in good goalscoring positions last season despite generally only coming off the bench for the final 15 minutes or so of most matches.
Fofana has 2 goals in 5 appearances for the Norway U18 side and a good return of 7 goals in 10 games for Stromsgodset’s B team last season. With Lars-Jørgen Salvesen (8.5) the sides’ talisman up front, Fofana may struggle to start games for his side this season but I suspect he could be used as an impact sub in matches and may eventually challenge for a place out wide in Stromsgodset’s 4-3-3 formation this season.
A riskier pick than my other suggestions here, but a player I have great confidence will go on and become a strong Eliteserien player in the future. As I mentioned before, finding a striker for under 5.5 in the game this year is nigh on impossible but Fofana may end up being something of a hidden gem in the game this year.
Thanks for hearing me out & I hope you’re all keeping well currently, given the state of the outside world. Football may not be at the forefront of our minds right now but I can’t wait for the Eliteserien season to resume.
Which strikers valued under 5.5 do you think could have a good impact for their respective clubs this season? Let me know in the comments.
4 years, 8 hours ago
First and foremost - sorry!
Ben was kind enough to write this about a month ago but it's been stuck in our system a while due to some behind-the-scenes issues we are trying to sort. Nothing major, just one of those things that's a lot slower to fix now due to the ongoing pandemic. Big apologies to Ben and the community for the delay.
With that being said, thanks for writing this! Seems an interesting pricing pattern this year, interesting to see where the gems come from.