Academy central defender Nicolay Schrøder has been named in the Norwegian squad for their UEFA U17 Championship first phase qualifiers in Malta next week. Summer recruit Schrøder could face his Irish team-mate Conor O’Donnell in their final qualifying match.
Norway take on Albania in their opening group game on Saturday, then play the hosts on the Monday before their match against the Republic of Ireland three days later.
Schrøder joined the academy full-time in the summer with recruitment officer Malcolm Moore telling TWTD that the Blues beat a number of top flight clubs to his signature: "He’s a very tall left-sided defender, who can play at centre-half or left-back.
"When we first saw him he always wanted to get it down and play and he impressed both [academy manager] Sammy Morgan and myself. One or two big clubs in the Premier League were very interested in him.
"He must be 6ft 4in tall, he’s a very tough guy and now he knows when to play and when to stick it in the stand. He takes no prisoners, he needs to develop his aerial work better than he is but we like him and we’ve been on his trail for some while.”
Norwegian U17s: Shåesh Ahmadi - VÃ¥lerenga Fotball, Veton Berisha - Viking FK, Thomas Grøgaard - Odd Grenland, Jonas Grønner - SK Brann, Kristoffer Haraldseid - FK Haugesund, Børge Josefsen - Hammerfest FK , Lars Kallevik - Løv-Ham Fotball, Kjetil Kalve - SK Brann, Fredrik Levorstad - Stabæk Fotball, Ohi Omoijuanfo - Lillestrøm SK, Martin Ovenstad Rønning - Mjøndalen IF Fotball, Nikolay F. Schrøder - Ipswich Town, Ole Kristian Selnæs - Rosenborg BK, Andreas Skog - Mosjøen IL Fotball, Tony Hieu Vo - Odd Grenland, Øystein Øvretveit - SK Brann, Magnus Fagerli - Rosenborg BK, Marcus B. Kveen - VÃ¥lerenga Fotball.