Town Sign Icelandic Youngster
Monday, 4th Jul 2011 23:32

Town have signed 17-year-old Icelandic midfielder Gunnar Thorsteinsson on a two-year academy scholarship. Thorsteinsson was on trial at Playford Road in the winter and again in May, impressing academy staff enough to be offered terms.

Thorsteinsson, who has been capped five times at U17 international level, came through the ranks at Icelandic club Grindavik, where his father Thorsteinn Gunnarsson is the chairman, making two senior appearances in 2009 and becoming their youngest ever first team player in the process.

TWTD’s Icelandic sources tell us Gunnarsson's dad has been an avid Town fan since his youth, visiting Portman Road on number occasions, and has passed his passion for the Blues on to his son.

Academy recruitment officer Malcolm Moore told TWTD that Grindavik were very helpful as Town completed the move: “The club have been very supportive and have given him the opportunity to come and join us. We’re pleased to see him here and we’ll see how it goes.

“He’s a strong central midfield player. He could also play at the back. He is creative given time, but we’re hoping we can quicken him up a little bit.

“We like what we see. He’s a good physical player, covers the ground well and we’ll see whether we can work with him to lift him up to the level that we expect in academy U18 football, which is very fast. Everything he does, we just want to quicken it up a little bit.”

Moore is pleased that one of Thorsteinsson’s fellow countrymen has also been recruited to the senior squad this summer: “I think Ãvar Ingimarsson knows his dad from Iceland and it’s good for the lad that he's joined us at the same time, so there’ll be a little bit of Icelandic banter in the canteen at times!”

Left-sided Thorsteinsson isn’t the first player the Blues have signed from Grindavik, keeper Ã“skar Pétursson spending two years at Playford Road before returning to his old club, where he is currently their number one.

Thorsteinsson and the rest of the academy's new recruits, along with the second-year scholars, started their pre-season programme last Wednesday.

Photo: Action Images

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blue_em_away added 12:18 - Jul 5

Welcome son. Hope you do well.

A slight side issue mentioned in the story from Malc Moore.
“We like what we see. He's a good physical player, covers the ground well and we'll see whether we can work with him to lift him up to the level that we expect in academy U18 football, which is very fast. Everything he does, we just want to quicken it up a little bit.”

Un fortunatly this disapoints me. Far to often the older boys get in this country we emphasise too much on speed and pace, and less on actual skill.

Football is a game of skill and tactics and not a race.