Feyenoord has recently been expressly interested in Fredrik André Bjørkan. However, the 23-year-old Norwegian left back preferred a transfer-free switch from FK Bodø/Glimt to Hertha BSC over the Rotterdam team. Joshua Smits, who played with Bjørkan in Norway, thinks the two-time Norwegian international would have been an asset to Feyenoord.
“I think it is a missed opportunity for Feyenoord, he was the best left back in the Norwegian league last season,” says Smits in conversation with Football zone. “He would have been of added value to Feyenoord. He is a hard worker and just keeps going, forwards and backwards. He likes to dribble. I don’t know if he would play right away. Malacia is a good left back, so maybe he wouldn’t have knocked it out right away. But then came Hertha, a big Bundesliga club. Well, then you can weigh what you want.”
Smits thinks that Bjørkan can be compared to Marcus Pedersen, who was removed from Molde FK by Feyenoord last summer. “We played against Pedersen just the week before he went to Feyenoord. He is a fine player, so is Björkan. Although I think Pedersen is a bit more elegant, Bjørkan is a bit more of a punch and throttle,” said the 25-year-old goalkeeper. His club Bodø/Glimt became champion in the Eliteserien last season – which runs in Norway over a calendar year – with a three-point lead over Molde FK, which, in addition to Pedersen, also lost Fredrik Aursnes to Feyenoord.
Football zone will publish an extensive story about FK Bodø/Glimt . tomorrow morning
In addition to Bjørkan, Smits would also have liked to see Patrick Berg play in the Eredivisie. The 24-year-old midfielder, nine-time international for Norway, was in the spotlight in sc Heerenveen, but eventually made the switch to the French RC Lens for 4.5 million euros in January. “We are going to miss him enormously, that was really the engine in the midfield. He has very good insight.”
“That is really a player who could perform well in the Eredivisie,” emphasizes Smits. “Good overview, strong passing, knows where to run, good positioning, can take a ball and knows how to chase. He’s just the link between defense and attack that allowed us to keep playing instead of pushing the ball forward. So we’re going to miss them a lot. There are some young guys behind it, so it’s up to them to stand up now.”