' CITY ARE IN TALKS WITH DEFENDER '

Surely our Chief Scout can look a bit further afield across Europe and beyond, instead of just having a chat with his mate back in Molde when he's got a weekend off and visiting the family.
I'd expect more from him than this to be honest.

Surely our Chief Scout can look a bit further afield across Europe and beyond, instead of just having a chat with his mate back in Molde when he's got a weekend off and visiting the family.
I'd expect more from him than this to be honest.

The type of centre back Ole is looking for are few and far between. And I doubt that CCFC are able to bring a better ball-playing CB, to be honest. Especially considering the time frame. Just because Forren is a Molde player and easily would want to join CCFC, doesn't mean he's not the best option available.

Taken from the other topic:


My boss is a huge Soton fan so i asked him to write me a little report om the Forren deal.


It started with interest from Soton but they looked at him for a good while without putting in an offer. David Moyes took his private jet to look at Forren as a possible Everton player and Brendan Rodgers wanted him to come to a trial with Liverpool. Solskjær said to media that he was ok with that as long as there was no offers on Forren.
The next day Soton made a bid at around 3,5mill and the trial with Liverpool was cancelled, they did not want to put up the money without a trial.

Forren signed for Soton while Adkins got fired but the man behind it was Pochettino. Forren was gonna replace Fonte and Lovren was goona be the quicker of them when he arrived.

Unfortunately for Forren his arrival ment that Fonte stepped up and started playing really well while Forren got to know the club and get used to the tempo. Pochettino was quoted saying that Forren was ready for PL after 3 months but he could not justify taking out Fonte who had been playing extremely well. Fonte kept up the good play and Forren never got the chance in the first team.When they bought Lovren he was told that he would not be a first team player in near future and got sold back to Molde as he would rather play first team football in Norway than earning big money on a reserve team in England.

Forren skills:

Good attributes: (Soton fan judgement)

Positions himself well inside the box. Always seem to be where the ball lands.
Anticipates the game well and seems to have 5 metres advantage in his head to compensate for the lack of speed.
Good at moving forward with the ball and seemed comfortable with the ball in his feet.
Very good passing, both short range and long range.
Very dangerous on set pieces and also got a extremely heavy shot, can score from range and on the head.
Showed at U21 that he is a leader on the field.

Bad attributes:

Pace. Not the man to catch up if he is already behind the player with ball.
Agility. Sometimes he looked as if he was made of stone. Could also be a good attribute but i rate would preferred him to be more agile.
Work rate. Could look at bit tired at the end of matches but we (soton fans) gave him the benefit of the doubt as he came to us out of season.

My view on Forren was that he was close to match Fonte but not quite there. The tempo in English football was probably what kept him behind Fonte but he is 6 years younger than Fonte and has plenty of time to improve. With patience and first experience he will become a better player than Fonte but at the moment id rather go for Fonte.

I talked to him at work again and he believes that Forren would be a great player for championship clubs. He didn`t want to go too much into the drama in a report written for Cardiff fans he said but he told me that he felt Forren was Nigel Adkins signing even tho Pocchetino said he was the one behind the signing.

He summed it up like this:

David Moyes (Everton) watched him a week earlier when he flew his private jet to Norway. Brendan Rodgers wanted him to trial for Liverpool. Adkins used his charisma and Forren decided to drop both Everton and Pool as he felt he was really wanted in Soton and would be closer to first team football there.
Signs contract, Adkins gets fired. Forren gets sold.

Btw, my mate said that this is how Soton fans rate Fonte`s positioning on the field and why many of them would love to see Fonte who is turning 31 go for alot of money:

Btw, my mate said that this is how Soton fans rate Fonte`s positioning on the field and why many of them would love to see Fonte who is turning 31 go for alot of money:

'Late 20's CB' , he's 26

4m seems a bit high but if he did sign id judge him on how he plays.

Would be a great addition, but 4 mill is mental. 2 mill maybe.

Norwegian media got a short statement from Vegard Forren today:

(my translation)

"I'm open to listen to any offer that would come in, but I haven't heard anything concrete from Cardiff, so all my attention is still with Molde".

Im norwegian and i tell you, Forren isn't worth a penny more than £1.5 million. 4 million is madness.

I really refuse to belive that Ole will pay that kind of money for him. He is at Eikrems level, ok for Championship but not nearly good enough for Premier League. Fact.

and if Daehli was seen as one of the biggest talents in British football, why did Man Utd let him go

They didn't technically let him go, really. They were already loaning out a lot of players and such chose to sell him, but put a buy-back clause in the sale to Molde, and they acted on that buyback clause when OGS made the move on him from Cardiff, but Mats' loyalty to OGS was greater than that of his loyalty to MUFC.

Thanks for that, I wasn't having a go at Daehli, merely pointing out that he was allowed to leave to go to a relatively small club, whereas had he been seen as a one of the biggest talents in British football at the time, surely a much bigger club would have come in for him?

Its not a great comparison because forren is not a teenager he is late 20s and has a failed transfer to southampton whereas you have this kid who was the academy top prospect along with januzaj and comes with a great rep. So it's not that odd that people have different expectations.
As said upthread mats asked to leave, united wanted to keep him, but as he wss barely 18 don't suppose they would have forced a young lad to stay against his will. They said he wanted to leave cause he was homesick and ole offered him a chance to develop in the first team back home. oles connections at old Trafford probably helped pave the way for the move.
Speaking of oles united connections I would've rather have michael keane than forren.

I agree that the comparison isn't great, especially as players develop at different speeds, but you said that Matts was seen as one of the biggest talents in British football, yet he ended up at Molde (No disrespect to them)!

Centre backs can be notoriously late to develop their game to a high standard, but as I said earlier, it appears that matters may have conspired somewhat against Forren at Southampton, who is only 26 btw and only had 6 months with them!

Most united accademy players are loaned out for years before they even get a chance in the first team.
Lingard, keane etc are all older than mats and still havent broken into the team so the question is whats is the better route?
By asking to be sold to a manager you trust you have more control over your own developement instead of being loaned out to various teams with various managers.
Playing for moldes first team is not any worse than like say a lad like Tom Lawrence that gets loaned out to Yeovil or some league 1 or 2 club
Because molde is the leading club in Norway a players gets to be involved in champions league qualifications and I am sure to a Norwegian lad in particular that's gonna be more attractive than playing in league 1.
He didnt really "end up there" he played there for a mere 6 months, in those 6 months he broke into Norways senior squad, got the award for best young player in the league and generally showed he could play senior football.
It's also been suggested that ole was planning a move back to England and mats was part of his plan.
I understand your point about developing late, but don't think comparing forren to someone who is an exceptional talent helps
It's understandable that people are not too enthusiastic about that player at that prize given his history. Its possible he will be a good addition but on paper it doesn't look to promising.

I agree that Matts probably made the right move to go back to Norway, but my point was, that had he been seen as one of the outstanding prospects in British football at the time, surely he'd have been chased by a bigger club and not ended up at Molde?

Man Utd appear only to have put a first option buy back clause in his contract, which basically meant that Matts was in charge of his own destiny and could have ended up at one of Man Utd's main rivals?

It wasn't me that started comparing Matts to Forren though, as I merely picked up on your touting him as a big talent, which he may well end up becoming, he's a bit off that level ATM, IMO!

I'm not being negative about Forren either BTW, as I prefer to give players a chance to prove themselves, one which he didn't appear to get at Southampton!

Personally, I hope he's a big success if he comes to us, as we're very short in that position at this moment in time!

Not sure, why this has turned into a discussion about size of mats talent? It was just an off hand comment to point out how they are very different cases.  I am no authority on best youth players but am just telling you his standing amongst united fans and those that follow academy football in the uk
Various football websites always put him on the list of most talented young players.. Best academy player etc.  He was at the biggest club wanted to leave if united tries to buy him back 6 months after he left then that tells you that they still rate him and would have liked to keep him. Going to another big club in epl wouldnt really have made any difference  would have been the same he would have played for the reserve team, benched or most likely loaned out. So from his point of view if the goal was to play first team football rather then be at best a sub at a bigger club it made sense to move with a trusted manager, where he was guaranteed games.  Years between 18-21-22 are crucial in that you don't wanna be a 22 year old with no other experience than reserve football or lower league. 
With regards to forren, 
I get that players can develop at different rate but I guess the whole point was that we as fans look into players when they are linked with a club, and these two came with very different rep naturally fans are gonna be more excited about a promising youngster that did well in a big British club than the guy who couldnt get a game at Southampton maybe there are mitigating circimstance but you could say the same about eikrem,and maybe Berget couldnt you? Bottom line is they weren't good enough to break into the first team last season. 

 Would be less negative if it weren't for the inflated price on forren.If we are prepared to pay that kind of money for a unproven cb by British standards then I am surprised we were only offering 3 mill for a player like fonte.  If we really want to push for a promotion then pay up for a player that has proven he can play at this level.

tommy I think the reasons are due to the ages of the two players
4million for a 26 yr old could still have a sell on value if came good
4+ million for a 31 yr old on the way down from the premier leagus probably would have no sell on value
imo and its just my opinion the club are going about improving our team/squad the right way
LETS TRUST OLE AND GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO PROVE HE KNOWS WHAT HES DOING

A slightly younger version of Hudson.

With a Norwegian accent..

Good player with European experience.

Silly figure being quoted but still be a good addition

Did he not go to Southampton and not get in the team so we've gone from Southampton starter to someone who can't get in their squad

Sounds promising

Did he not go to Southampton and not get in the team so we've gone from Southampton starter to someone who can't get in their squad

Sounds promising

If you read this thread (and other about him) you'll see there's more to that story than that. He might be better than Fonte - we'll see. He was better than Hangeland, a PL captain for years, in the Norwegian national team for quite some time. And if Norway got a really competitive spot in the NT, it's at CB. So it's not all bad news.

Forren is a Turner with passing skills, a heavy shot and abilities to nick the ball into the net. I say, go get him.

'Late 20's CB' , he's 26

Yes, that is late 20's, Jordan.

Glad I have come back on this forum,missed it

Forren missed penalty and scored an own goal for Molde in the ongoing Europe League match... His head is already in Cardiff, how sweet...

Omg Forren.....Terrible!!

and if Daehli was seen as one of the biggest talents in British football, why did Man Utd let him go

They didn't technically let him go, really. They were already loaning out a lot of players and such chose to sell him, but put a buy-back clause in the sale to Molde, and they acted on that buyback clause when OGS made the move on him from Cardiff, but Mats' loyalty to OGS was greater than that of his loyalty to MUFC.

Thanks for that, I wasn't having a go at Daehli, merely pointing out that he was allowed to leave to go to a relatively small club, whereas had he been seen as a one of the biggest talents in British football at the time, surely a much bigger club would have come in for him?

Its not a great comparison because forren is not a teenager he is late 20s and has a failed transfer to southampton whereas you have this kid who was the academy top prospect along with januzaj and comes with a great rep. So it's not that odd that people have different expectations.
As said upthread mats asked to leave, united wanted to keep him, but as he wss barely 18 don't suppose they would have forced a young lad to stay against his will. They said he wanted to leave cause he was homesick and ole offered him a chance to develop in the first team back home. oles connections at old Trafford probably helped pave the way for the move.
Speaking of oles united connections I would've rather have michael keane than forren.

I agree that the comparison isn't great, especially as players develop at different speeds, but you said that Matts was seen as one of the biggest talents in British football, yet he ended up at Molde (No disrespect to them)!

Centre backs can be notoriously late to develop their game to a high standard, but as I said earlier, it appears that matters may have conspired somewhat against Forren at Southampton, who is only 26 btw and only had 6 months with them!

Most united accademy players are loaned out for years before they even get a chance in the first team.
Lingard, keane etc are all older than mats and still havent broken into the team so the question is whats is the better route?
By asking to be sold to a manager you trust you have more control over your own developement instead of being loaned out to various teams with various managers.
Playing for moldes first team is not any worse than like say a lad like Tom Lawrence that gets loaned out to Yeovil or some league 1 or 2 club
Because molde is the leading club in Norway a players gets to be involved in champions league qualifications and I am sure to a Norwegian lad in particular that's gonna be more attractive than playing in league 1.
He didnt really "end up there" he played there for a mere 6 months, in those 6 months he broke into Norways senior squad, got the award for best young player in the league and generally showed he could play senior football.
It's also been suggested that ole was planning a move back to England and mats was part of his plan.
I understand your point about developing late, but don't think comparing forren to someone who is an exceptional talent helps
It's understandable that people are not too enthusiastic about that player at that prize given his history. Its possible he will be a good addition but on paper it doesn't look to promising.

I agree that Matts probably made the right move to go back to Norway, but my point was, that had he been seen as one of the outstanding prospects in British football at the time, surely he'd have been chased by a bigger club and not ended up at Molde?

Man Utd appear only to have put a first option buy back clause in his contract, which basically meant that Matts was in charge of his own destiny and could have ended up at one of Man Utd's main rivals?

It wasn't me that started comparing Matts to Forren though, as I merely picked up on your touting him as a big talent, which he may well end up becoming, he's a bit off that level ATM, IMO!

I'm not being negative about Forren either BTW, as I prefer to give players a chance to prove themselves, one which he didn't appear to get at Southampton!

Personally, I hope he's a big success if he comes to us, as we're very short in that position at this moment in time!

Not sure, why this has turned into a discussion about size of mats talent? It was just an off hand comment to point out how they are very different cases. I am no authority on best youth players but am just telling you his standing amongst united fans and those that follow academy football in the uk
Various football websites always put him on the list of most talented young players.. Best academy player etc. He was at the biggest club wanted to leave if united tries to buy him back 6 months after he left then that tells you that they still rate him and would have liked to keep him. Going to another big club in epl wouldnt really have made any difference would have been the same he would have played for the reserve team, benched or most likely loaned out. So from his point of view if the goal was to play first team football rather then be at best a sub at a bigger club it made sense to move with a trusted manager, where he was guaranteed games. Years between 18-21-22 are crucial in that you don't wanna be a 22 year old with no other experience than reserve football or lower league.
With regards to forren,
I get that players can develop at different rate but I guess the whole point was that we as fans look into players when they are linked with a club, and these two came with very different rep naturally fans are gonna be more excited about a promising youngster that did well in a big British club than the guy who couldnt get a game at Southampton maybe there are mitigating circimstance but you could say the same about eikrem,and maybe Berget couldnt you? Bottom line is they weren't good enough to break into the first team last season.

Would be less negative if it weren't for the inflated price on forren.If we are prepared to pay that kind of money for a unproven cb by British standards then I am surprised we were only offering 3 mill for a player like fonte. If we really want to push for a promotion then pay up for a player that has proven he can play at this level.

Can't argue with the majority of your last post and having also agreed with you, that it wasn't a good comparison which had been made between Daehli & Forren, you've now chosen to add Eikrem and Berget to complicate the equation further!

I don't want to drag the Daehli point out either, so suffice to say that IMO, had Man Utd really rated him so highly when they allowed him to go to Molde, surely he would have been made to sign a new contract and allowed to go on loan instead of a permanent signing, with a pretty weak option to buy him back, should Daehli have been inclined to return?

I'm not knocking Daehli either btw, as I think he's a very good talent, but perhaps Man Utd were being a bit complacent in the way they allowed him to leave!

I can understand yours and other poster's negativity surrounding our reported intention to sign Forren, especially if the £4 million is to be believed!

However, personally I'm not sure we've made any enquiries for him at all, as he's been reported as saying he hasn't heard of any offer from us and I also don't believe that the sum mentioned by Carl is accurate, not unless there are a number of add ons, tied in with us getting promoted again and him playing a large amount of games etc!

With regard to Fonte, it was reported that we had bid up to £4 million for him and not the £3 million you've stated, although had we offered £5 million, I'm sceptical as to whether we really had a chance of signing him any way!

Forren didn't have the best of games for his Molde FK last night against Ukraine side Zorja in the Euro League qualifications. After 1-1 away in the first game, home team Molde got a penalty in the 87th minute on the score 1-1 (2-2 overall). Vegard Forren stepped up, but the goalkeeper made a great save. Under two minutes later Forren made an own goal and Molde was knocked out.

I fear the bad luck with Turner's injury coupled with the failure of the manager to replace Caulker by now will prove to be more devastating than one can envisage.

The first 10 games are the acid test for any campaign and seeing the fixture list City have some top teams to play, who will be gunning for our central defence. Tonight will be no exception with Rhodes and Gestade looking to capitalise.

City will need tt be offensively spot on as they will find clean sheets hard to come by; more so if the defensively inadequate Fabio is the first choice full back.