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West Ham Transfer Talk: Who is Ole Selnaes?

By Jeremiah Carson

OSLO, NORWAY - OCTOBER 15: Ole Kristian Selnaes of Norway during training before the UEFA Nations League C group three match between Norway and Bulgaria at Ullevaal Stadion on October 15, 2018 in Oslo, Norway. (Photo by Trond Tandberg/Getty Images)
OSLO, NORWAY - OCTOBER 15: Ole Kristian Selnaes of Norway during training before the UEFA Nations League C group three match between Norway and Bulgaria at Ullevaal Stadion on October 15, 2018 in Oslo, Norway. (Photo by Trond Tandberg/Getty Images) /
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It’s that time of year where as West Ham fans we can dread, the transfer window.  It can be a dreadful time because it always seems that we have about 30 to 40 players linked to us and only a few, if any, pan out.

It is safe to say however, that the Hammers back office and board have made leaps and bounds in transfer matters so far this season.  With that, insert the latest rumour (and I mean it the most literalness form of the word rumour), Ole Selnaes.

Who?

The Norwegian born defensive midfielder, who occasionally plays centre mid, is valued at 8 million pounds and currently plays for Saint-Etienne in the French Ligue 1.  He is under a contract that runs until 2020.  He got his start in professional football when he signed with Rosenborg BK in the Norwegian Eliteserien back in March of 2012.

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According to transfermarkt.com, while at RBK he had 134 appearances with 4 goals and 12 assists.  Ole was since moved to the french side in 2016 for at the time 3.2 million pounds.  It has taken time to get his feet wet in a new country and in a new side but so far this season he has recorded 17 appearances with 5 assists.  Ole Selnaes also plays for the Norwegian National Squad where he has slotted an additional 2 goals for the country.

The Why?

It is well-known that Manuel Pellegrini  and his back office have spent time looking into the French Ligue 1 and its players.  Selnaes is young (24) and has plenty of time under his belt both at a national level and top European levels which makes him an incising interest for many clubs.  There have been some other “rumours” floating around that Pedro Obiang is potentially wanting to go elsewhere.  Either way, it would not hurt to have more competition and depth to help what seems to be an always injured bunch.

Ole is very much that same type of player that Declan Rice is and that could be a questions mark as to why would we need him but for his price and age it’s not a bad option to have.  Another question might be how will one perform in the English Premier League where it can be argued that it is the toughest league to get by in.  That question would obviously remain unseen at this time but with the training staff we have I don’t have many doubts into his potential growth.

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Interesting side note,  if the Hammers do pull the trigger on this unforeseen rumour that would make Ole Selnaes just the 4th ever West Ham player to be from Norway.  The other three you might ask were John Carew (1 season, 19 appearances, 2 goals), Havard Nordtveit (1 season, 16 appearances), and current player Martin Samuelsen who has basically been on loan since his arrival in 2015.  One can only hope that is we sign Selnaes his might show more reliability than Carew and Nordveit.  Who knows what will happen over this next month so stay turned to the Green Street Hammers as we will continue bringing you up to the minute news and rumors.  Until next time, COME ON YOUR IRONS!

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