Patrick Berg preferred a transfer to RC Lens at the beginning of January over Ajax and Celtic, the Norwegian midfielder reveals in the Scottish press. Berg moved during the winter transfer window for 4.5 million euros from FK Bodö/Glimt to the French middle engine. Berg was also in the interest of sc Heerenveen and FC Groningen. The Frisian club saw in him the ideal successor to Joey Veerman.
“Celtic and Ajax were both interested in me,” Berg says in conversation with the Daily Record. “I had a good season with my club with which I became champion and I was also voted player of the year. But I felt Lens was the best option for me. When I heard that they were interested, I quickly made the choice that I wanted to go to that club. I felt I was ready for a new step and I believed that French football would suit me.”
For Berg, Lens feels like ‘the perfect choice’. “I hope that I can contribute to the success of the team and that we can improve as a club. There are good talented players, so I think the club has a bright future.” The 24-year-old midfielder, nine-time international for Norway, was also in the interest of sc Heerenveen and FC Groningen, but is now leaving for Ligue 1. The Dutch goalkeeper Joshua Smits, who played with Berg at Bodö/Glimt and still plays for the Norwegian club, recently said in a big interview with Football zone even that he would have liked to see Berg play in the Eredivisie.
“We are going to miss him enormously, that was really the engine in midfield,” said Smits. “He has very good insight. That is really a player who could do well in the Eredivisie. 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 football 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.”