From Oslo to Barcelona, the search for tomorrow’s forwards is reaching ever younger corners of the European game. Barcelona’s recruitment department has kept Norway’s Gabriel Rajkovic under observation, with the 15-year-old Vålerenga striker already making a startling early impression in the Eliteserien.
Barcelona sporting director Deco has set out the club’s intention to track emerging talent closely, identifying players before their prices rise beyond reach. That approach has recently brought Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim, 18, into the club’s orbit, while Belgian winger Jesse Bisiwu, also 18, has worked with the first team and Portuguese attacker Dany Freire joined at the age of 16.
A record set in Bodø
Rajkovic was watched in Vålerenga’s meeting with Bodø/Glimt on 8 August, a 2-1 defeat that nevertheless became a landmark afternoon for the teenager. At 15 years, five months and 15 days, he scored his first senior goal and became the youngest scorer in Eliteserien history.
The scale of that achievement is clear in a country that has produced Erling Haaland. Haaland was 17 years and 16 days old when he found the net for Molde for the first time. Rajkovic, born in Oslo on 23 February 2011, has since added another goal in a 2-2 draw with Sarpsborg.
He has appeared 13 times for Vålerenga’s first team despite his age. Standing 1.87 metres tall, the forward has already shown he can withstand the physical contest posed by Norway’s senior defenders, adding a powerful frame to the promise of his finishing.
Barcelona’s possible opening
Arsenal and Chelsea are also monitoring Rajkovic, but Brexit places a significant restriction on English clubs: they cannot bring him in before he reaches adulthood. Barcelona would have a different route, as they could sign him once he turns 16 because he is eligible as a European player.
There is no suggestion that an agreement is in place, and Rajkovic’s next steps remain with Vålerenga for now. Yet Barcelona’s visit to watch him reflects a wider continental race: a leading club looking north, towards a young striker who has already placed his name beside one of Norwegian football’s most remarkable age records.
