Fulham Scouting In Norway

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Celtic join Fulham and Bolton in Norwegian scouting mission

Marcus Pedersen and Mohammed Fellah were among two players watched by a wealth of clubs, including Celtic, on Saturday night in a Norwegian Premier League match.

02 May 2010 14:28 GMT


Thomas Rogne could be joined by two of his compatriots if a scouting mission to Norway was successful. Pic: ©SNS Group

Celtic were amongst a host of English and European clubs represented at Saturday night's Tippeligaen match between Valerenga and Stromsgodset. The Norwegian fixture, the ninth of the 2010 campaign for the two teams, featured a wealth of young talent attracting interest from teams keen to tap into a burgeoning Scandinavian talent pool.

Stromsgodset striker Marcus Pedersen, 19, and Valerenga attacking midfielder Mohammed Fellah, 20, were amongst the players under the watchful eyes of the Hoops' scouts in the region.

Officials from Fulham, Bolton, Sunderland, Blackburn, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hamburg and Auxerre were all reportedly at the fixture, which was won 1-0 by Stromsgodset.

According to Norwegian newspaper VG, six other young players are also being monitored by the clubs. Stromsgodset's Jo Inge Berget and Muhamed Keita, both 19, and defender Lars Saetra, 18, are all tipped for bigger things. For Valerenga, Harmeet Singh, 19, Moa Abdellaoue, 24, and his younger brother Mos Abdellaoue are also interesting clubs across Europe.

Pedersen and Fellah are two of the highest rated at both clubs and are both Norway under-21 internationalists. Pedersen, who had a trial with Liverpool in 2006, has scored five times in nine games this season for Godset, having moved from HamKam in 2009.

As demonstrated in a video on IMScouting from a game against Sandefjord in April, the tricky player scored twice and set up another in a 4-2 victory and was unfortunate not to add to his tally, terrorising the opposition defence with his direct style.

Fellah, who is of Moroccan descent, is a 5ft 5in attacking central midfielder who is renowned for his creativity. Born in Oslo, he overcame a broken leg in an under-18s match with Norway in 2007 to establish himself in the Enga's team.

Celtic made use of their scouting network in Scandinavia in the January transfer window, bringing in three players from the region. From Norway, young defender Thomas Rogne was picked up on a Bosman from Stabaek and has since gone onto to feature in the first team, although his progress has been hampered by injury.

Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld was picked up from Swedes AIK and striker Morten Rasmussen signed from Danish club Brondby. Swedish forward Emir Kujovic, 21, was also a reported signing target for Tony Mowbray back in January but the 6ft 4in player remained with Halmstad.