Jimmy Thelin Player Trader
A Review on the New Aberdeen FC Manager's Recruitment at Elfsborg
In his opening remarks on Jimmy Thelin’s appointment at Aberdeen FC, chairman Dave Cormack recognized “his ability to continually develop excellent players within a successful player trading model”.
More recently, earlier this week, Swedish journalist Oskar Palsson in the Boras Tiding paper, reprinted in the Press and Journal noted that Thelin “had been very good at scouting and finding young players, a lot of them from Africa. Then he makes them good, sells them and makes money for the club. Elfsborg have earned a lot of money in recent years and that is key in how they have succeeded in recent years, even on the pitch.”
Aberdeen have done well in the past few seasons with sales of Scott McKenna, Calvin Ramsey, Lewis Ferguson and Ylber Ramadani. The latter is more of a poster-child for this philosophy of unearthing gems in untapped markets and Miovski’s sale this summer may well be the biggest of the lot so far.
However, Thelin has had exceptional success at Elfsborg, with close to €24M in profit generated in his six seasons at the club, with the majority of that coming in the last four years.
All data provided by https://www.transfermarkt.com/
Thelin’s Biggest Deals
Joseph Okumu (€3.50m to Gent): Okumu is a Kenyan who was playing in the second tier in the USA for Real Monarchs an affiliate of Real Salt Lake. After an impressive showing at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, he was signed by Elfsborg
He was a key part of the Elfsborg defence in the 2020 Allsvenskan season in which Thelin’s side finished runners up. He was sold to Gent in the summer of 2021 and has since moved on to Stade Reims for €10M.
Gustaf Lagerbielke (€3.40m to Celtic): Lagerbielke has had a torrid first season at Celtic, finding himself behind Liam Scales in the pecking order and playing only 10 times for the Hoops. Perhaps this an indication of Thelin’s ability to make players look great and drive a hard bargain. We’ll surely know if Jack Mackenzie moves to Benfica next summer for big cash.
Lagerbielke is another fascinating tale. He only made 22 apperances for Elfsborg in the league, 16 of which came in the 2023 season. The year before he had been on loan to Degerfors and was signed in 2001 from Västerås a smaller club in the second division.
Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson (€3.0M to Brentford): Valdimarsson, an Icelandic international, was signed from small outfit ÍF Grótta who had just been relegated from the Icelandic top tier.
He made his breakthrough in the 2022 season, before enjoying a stellar campaign in 2023 as Elfsborg lost the title on the final day. He was named goalkeeper of the year in 2023 and signed for Brentford in January 2024.
Jesper Karlsson (€2.6M to AZ): Karlsson, a left winger, was at Elfsborg when Thelin arrived. In the coach’s first season Karlsson found himself limited to appearances off the bench but the next two seasons he scored 19 times and assisted 11 goals.
He joined AZ in September 2020 and this past summer joined Bologna for €11.00m.
Leo Väisänen (€1.8M to Austin): A Finnish international, who was signed from Dutch outfit Den Bosch for €150k, Väisänen rarely missed a minute, never mind a game for Elfsborg in three seasons. He was sold 10x to Austin FC for €1.80m.
Describing his time at Elfsborg, Väisänen said: “Overall, I have simply become a better footballer since I came to Elfsborg, but more specifically I feel that I am definitely more physical in my playing style now. It’s a tougher environment here than I was used to before. There has been fierce competition every day in training – and that is exactly what drives us players forward.”
Conclusion
There are a variety of player trading examples here: spotting talent in untapped locations, developing youth products, improving players already at the club, all of which bode well for Thelin’s tenure at Aberdeen. Many have also moved on for considerable sums afterwards and presumably sell-on clauses
What is more of a concern is the speed at which these players leave once they establish themselves as regulars in the Elfsborg starting eleven. Part of the motivation of developing a player trading model is surely to establish a winning team on the field. Where keeping a Miovski for another year outweighs the million or two that may be wiped off the transfer fee?
Luckily, Tehlin has shown he is capable of absorbing the loss of key talent, reinvesting it wisely and improving the team at the same time.
We are in for an interesting transfer window and we may well have some new heroes to worship over the next 12 months.
Just be careful not to fall in love with them.
Cover image of Sebastian Holmen via Amanda Aikioniemi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons