2 hours ago
3
Any AC Milan fan checking the score in Bodo/Glimt vs. Spurs would have noticed a familiar name in lights: Jens Petter Hauge.
As Calciomercato.com recall, Hauge was one of the stars last night in the Champions League with a brace against Spurs, the latest evidence of the Norwegian’s constant growth. He is returning to the high levels of performance that convinced Milan to bring him to Serie A in 2020.
The background on Milan
It was five years ago in a Europa League preliminary round match that Hauge announced himself at San Siro. He scored a goal and got an assist against the Rossoneri while playing for Bodo/Glimt, which convinced the management to sign him for €5m there and then.
Overall, the season started positively: at the end of October, his first goal in the Europa League against Celtic, in November the first success in Serie A against Napoli, the two consecutive goals in Europe again against Celtic and then Sparta Prague.
All this came in the few minutes given by Stefano Pioli, thanks to the abundance of resources in the department. Simply put, Rafael Leao, Ante Rebic, Brahim Diaz, Hakan Calhanoglu, Samu Castillejo and Alexis Saelemaekers were all favoured as wingers.
Hauge was increasingly less used as the season went on and excluded from the UEFA list for the knockout phase of the tournament. A single goal in early April against Sampdoria was effectively his last appearance and contribution in a Milan shirt.
There was too much competition and perhaps the feeling of a player too raw in Pioli’s eyes, and their paths diverged. There were ‘no regrets for Milan’ as per the report, who were crowned champions of Italy the following year and made €10m from Hauge’s sale to Eintracht Frankfurt.
From Frankfurt he ended up back with his hometown club Bodo, and this season he has nine goals plus 10 assists in 45 appearances. He already equaled last season’s total, with the aim of reaching the 2020 high of 14 goals. Sometimes a return home can do good.
English (US) ·