Why Crystal Palace should take a punt on Ivan Nasberg
According to The Sun, Crystal Palace have been credited with an interest in Norwegian centre-back Ivan Nasberg, who currently plies his trade with Valerenga in his homeland.
Premier League rivals Fulham are also understood to be among the potential suitors for the 24-year-old, who has been tipped for a first senior international call-up following a string of impressive performances for Valerenga this season. (h/t The Sun)
Profile
Born in Oslo, Ivan Nasberg rose through the youth ranks of Valerenga before making his senior debut in the top-flight back in 2013 aged just 17. The defender only played a bit-part role in his first few seasons at the club but has established himself as a regular starter over the past three years.
The 24-year-old has made a total of 102 appearances for Valerenga in all competitions so far, registering 2 goals and 2 assists in the process. Nasberg represented Norway across various age-group levels between U-17 and U-21 but remains uncapped at the senior international level.
Nasberg would help Palace reshuffle their backline
Crystal Palace aren’t really crying out for reinforcements at the heart of the defence, with James Tomkins, Mamadou Sakho, Gary Cahill, Scott Dann, Martin Kelly, Sam Woods, Joel Ward and Jairo Riedewald all competing for places at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles have looked fairly comfortable at the back in recent seasons, conceding 53 goals in 2018-19 followed by 50 goals in 2019-20. The existing crop of defenders have done a commendable job but Palace will eventually need to reshape their backline moving forward.
Cahill (34), Sakho (30) and Dann (33) are all out of contract next summer while Tomkins (31) is also about to enter the final 12 months of his contract in South London.
Tomkins, Ward, Dann and Sakho have all had their fair share of struggles with injuries in recent times. While Palace have had enough depth to rotate their options at the back, they will surely need to streamline their squad to reduce the burden on the wage bill. And parting ways with some of the ageing defenders should free up space for new arrivals.
To put things into perspective, Crystal Palace need to line up some younger alternatives in the market and Ivan Nasberg represents an effective low-cost solution for the Eagles to restructure their central defensive unit with one eye on the future.
The former Norwegian U-21 international has proven himself to be a cut above the rest in his homeland, making over 100 appearances for Valerenga. While the difference between the Eliteserien and Premier League is quite massive, both in terms of quality and intensity, Nasberg is certainly more than worth a punt for Palace if he is, indeed, available at the reported price of £1m.
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Verdict
There’s always an element of risk involved in signing players from the so-called lesser leagues in Europe. Of course, it’s hard to predict whether Ivan Nasberg would be able to make a direct jump to the Premier League.
But the Norwegian definitely deserves a shot at proving his credentials in a more competitive league after outgrowing his humble surroundings in his homeland. Having said that, Crystal Palace shouldn’t hesitate to play a low-cost gamble on the 24-year-old, who still has his best years ahead of him.
