Stabæk Fotball: Europe's Most Underrated Talent Developers
How does a club in Norway's second division continue to challenge some of the most elite and lucrative academies in European football?
Based in Bærum, a small suburb just outside of Oslo, Stabæk IF are traditionally a staple in Norway’s highest division. But with only one solitary top-flight title and Norwegian Cup triumph in 2008 and 1998 respectively, the club are not seen as one of Norway’s most illustrious clubs when it comes to domestic achievements.
In more recent years the club have been even less successful, yo-yoing between the 1st and 2nd divisions. In 2024, Stabæk finished 7th in the OBOS-Ligaen and will subsequently remain in Norway’s 2nd division for successive seasons for the first time since their incredible 9 year rise from the 5th to the 1st tier in 1995. In fact, from 1995 to 2023, Stabæk had only been in Norway’s 2nd division 3 times - now they face two in the space of two years.
Whilst on the pitch things have been on a downward curve, off the pitch and in the transfer market, the club have continued their rich history of producing top talents. The club are fantastic producers of young players and are a side that love to embed youngsters into their senior squad. With an average age of 20.6, Stabæk had the third youngest squad in the OBOS-Ligaen in 2024 and continued to give plenty of opportunities to their academy products.
Academy Success
Stabæk have produced a number of talents who are flourishing across Europe’s top leagues in recent years. The likes of Antonio Nusa, Hugo Vetlesen and Kristoffer Askildsen all came through the ranks at Stabæk before going onto excel elsewhere.
What’s most interesting about the success of Stabæk’s academy is that the academy itself was only formed 15 years ago with it initially starting as after-school activity for local school children. Despite this lack of history, a decade and a half later the club has managed to produce some fantastic players who have gone on to play for some of Europe’s most illustrious clubs.
Stabæk’s former academy director, Erik Rønstad, went into really good detail in an interview in 2016 about what he believes has made the club such an attractive place for top domestic talents to play and develop. He explains that the club is the best in the country when it comes to giving youth players exposure to international football. The club provides each age group in their academy with between 2-4 international tournaments per year allowing them to test themselves against some of Europe’s top academies like Chelsea and Barcelona. He believes that this is one reason why the club has become more enticing to the most talented kids in Oslo.
Antonio Nusa (RB Leipzig)
Nusa spent the best part of three years at Stabæk, joining the academy in 2018 aged just 13 before making his senior debut in 2021 in a 4-2 loss to Rosenborg in the Eliteserien at the age of 16. Nusa only went on to make 12 more senior appearances before interest from bigger clubs gathered, and just 3 months after making his senior debut, his silky dribbling and lightning pace encouraged Club Brugge to pay €3M for his signature. Still only at the age of 19, Nusa has now become a senior international for Norway and has become a key player for Champions League regulars, RB Leipzig. Stabæk can take major credit for Nusa’s development and is a prime example of the quality of footballers that this relatively small club on the outskirts of Oslo can produce.
Spotting Market Opportunities
Stabæk haven’t just been successful at producing their own talents though, the club are very strong at spotting domestic and international opportunities to invest in the transfer market when it comes to young talents. Players like Gift Orban, Kasper Høgh and Birger Meling are all prime examples of young players who were brought in for small fees and turned over into significant profits.
Gift Orban (Hoffenheim)
Orban’s incredible rise from rags to riches has been well documented with Stabæk receiving plenty of plaudits for their recruitment. The club received a fee close to €5M from Gent for Orban less than 6 months after he made his move to Norway permanent in August 2022. His incredible form continued in Belgium before he earned a huge move to French giants, Lyon, in January 2024 for a rumoured €14M (of which Stabæk would’ve received a significant percentage). Whilst his time in France hasn’t gone particularly to plan, the strong, powerful centre-forward will be hoping to rekindle his previous form at Bundesliga strugglers, Hoffenheim this season. Orban is another player that provides evidence of the blueprint of African recruitment in Scandinavia.
Kasper Høgh (Bodø/Glimt)
Kasper’s path is slightly different. Now flying high for regular European over-achievers, Bodø/Glimt in Norway’s top-flight, his journey to playing against some of the biggest side’s in Europe wasn’t so plain-sailing until his career was propelled by Stabæk. Despite having all the characteristics required to be a fantastic modern number 9, he spent most of the early parts of his career dotting around Danish clubs after coming through at Randers and even had a brief spell on loan in Iceland. He ended up at Aalborg in Denmark in 2022 and after initially starting well, he suffered a couple of injuries and his minutes became more irregular after this. Stabæk spotted this opportunity and bought him for €350K. Whilst his spell at the club only lasted 17 games (again due to injuries) he managed to score 8 goals and Stabæk doubled their money when he moved to Norway’s top club, Bodø/Glimt. Now thriving in the north of the country, Høgh is an example of how Stabæk can flip profits by spotting gaps in the market.
Stabæk’s Present & Future
But it’s not just the recent past where Stabæk have excelled when it comes to developing young talent. The club are continuing to produce exciting players both through their academy and their recruitment. Stabæk’s average age of their squad last season was 20.6 and awarded 9 teenagers with at least 500 minutes of league football, which showcases their willingness to give plenty of opportunities to young players.
Sebastian Olderheim | 17 | Attacking Midfielder
Olderheim made his debut for Stabæk aged just 15 back in June 2023 in the Norwegian Cup. He made a few appearances in their last season in Norway’s top flight, the Eliteserien, before he became a regular for his club in 2024. He played just shy of 2000 league minutes last season which shows the trust and faith that his club have in him. He plays with a maturity beyond his years and is really intelligent with the spaces and positions he takes up. Smooth on the ball and a good manipulator in tight spaces, he can get out of trouble and has the iQ and creativity up his sleeve to unlock a door. There hasn’t been many rumours of a move away for Olderheim but it’s likely that clubs elsewhere in Europe will keep a close eye on him when football restarts in Norway in March.
Oskar Spiten-Nysæter | 17 | Centre-Forward/Winger
Oskar is, without a doubt, the star of this Stabæk side. In 22 league games last season he racked up 11 goals and 2 assists and had a breakout season which has attracted interest from multiple top European sides. Capable of playing as a centre-forward or as inside forward off the left, Oskar excels in his ball manipulation in tight spaces, the timing of his runs and in his finishing. He has some fire in his belly too and has the strength to compete in a physical battle and oozes confidence in possession. He’s a player who loves the ball at his feet which can lead to him holding onto it for too long at times but he has the quality to produce magic. Like Olderheim, he will be another player who is closely monitored going into the summer window when he turns 18.
William Wendt | 19 | Centre Midfielder
Wendt is another youngster who earned a lot of first team opportunities in 2024 making 24 league appearances for the club. Whilst a little older than Sebastian and Oskar, and not quite as exciting, Wendt is still a really tidy footballer with a good career ahead of him. Fairly average in terms of his physical capabilities but he’s technically very tidy and plays with a good tempo. He works hard defensively too, constantly putting in a shift to break up play and is tenacious when getting himself about the pitch. His ceiling as not as high as others in his squad but I could see interest arising from clubs in leagues like the Eredivisie and Swiss Super League if he continues on his current trajectory.
Aleksander Andresen | 19 | Left Back
Andresen hasn’t had the easiest of careers so far. He’s had injury problems in his short career so far but aged just 13 he had to take 18 months out of the game due to cancer. But he came back even stronger and has developed and incredibly strong mentality and character. Not only does Aleksander have a top mentality, he is also a fantastic young prospect. A real team player who works hard to support his teammates, he gets up and down the pitch well supporting in both attacking and defensive phases. He has a great delivery on him and isn’t afraid to have a shot from range when moving into the final third. Steady defensively still with some areas to improve, he moves into the final year of his contract this year and should be on the radar of clubs across Europe looking for a young prospect to develop.
It’s unlikely that Stabæk will be able to keep hold of many of these talents for too much longer, thus the club have to already be preparing the next batch of young talents to come through. Two to keep an eye over the next 12-18 months are Richard Ferrington and Abel Cedergren.
Ferrington, aged just 16, made his senior debut for Stabæk last season coming off the bench in two games. He’s a boxy centre-forward with a strong physical frame who knows where the goal is having scored 7 goals in 17 games for Stabæk’s reserve side last year. Expect to see him get more opportunities in 2025.
Abdel Cedergren, aged just 15, is the ready-made heir to Ferrington already, and may be even better than him. Cedergren made his reserve team debut aged just 14 last year and in just 12 appearances he amassed 10 goals with his highlight coming against Mosjøen in August where he scored 6 in one game. Expect him to make his debut for Stabæk’s senior side in 2025.
Stabæk are an incredibly admirable club. They continue to produce talented youngsters of their own and are just as proactive and innovative when it comes to unearthing talent from elsewhere. They may be based in a small town on the outskirts of Oslo, but the club has and continues to compete with some of Europe’s most well-funded clubs when it comes to nurturing young talents.