Jens Petter Hauge: Who is the Eintracht Frankfurt winger with close ties to Erling Haaland?
It's safe to assume Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimovic approve of Jens Petter Hauge's move from AC Milan to Eintracht Frankfurt. bundesliga.com has the lowdown on the Norway international receiving counsel from the very best...
Jens Petter Hauge
Age: 21
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Position: Winger
Country: Norway (3 caps)
Key stats
A keen sportsman and Futsal player, Hauge made rapid progress through the Bodo/Glimt Football Academy, before inking a professional contract in 2016, aged 16. He made his senior debut within 24 hours, scoring a 14-minute hat-trick in a Norwegian Cup win over IF Floya. The 6'0" wide man became Bodo/Glimt's youngest ever marksman in the Eliteserien before the campaign was out, courtesy of his penalty-kick against IK Start on 8 July. He left for Milan in October 2020 not only as a freshly minted Eliteserien champion and the official Player of the Season, but the only player born after 1996 to have scored at least 20 goals in Norway's top division (22 in 77 appearances, plus 12 assists).
Hauge had a hand in six goals in 24 competitive outings for Milan. He scored three and assisted one in five UEFA Europa League appearances, while his two Serie A efforts fell in substitute outings against Napoli and Sampdoria. The Norway international - who has been capped at every level from U15s upwards and famously set up four of nine Haaland goals in a FIFA U20 World Cup rout of Honduras - has signed a one-year loan deal with Frankfurt with an option to make it permanent.
Plays a bit like: Heung-Min Son
A robust, right-footed winger, who inflicts maximum damage when driving at defenders and cutting in off the left-hand flank, Hauge has been likened to former Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen attacker Heung-Min Son.
"The way he moves and for the goals he scores, he resembles Son of Tottenham, one of the 10 best players in the world today," said Italian journalist and commentator Carlo Pellegatti, hitting the nail right on the head.
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Did you know?
Hauge is good friends with Haaland, of Borussia Dortmund fame.
"Yeah, we talk a lot... especially [last] summer because I almost joined a Belgian club and we were talking," he revealed.
"Haaland agreed that maybe it was better if I turned down the offer and waited for a better one. When AC Milan came in, he told me: 'Go for it, it will be good. Playing at AC Milan will be hard - you have to work on stuff with the language, but I think it will be good.'"
Hauge also hit it off with Ibrahimovic in his Milan days.
"Zlatan was always raising the bar on the pitch, and we can speak the same language, so he helped me," he recalled.
"I remember I came to the dressing room with a new hat, and Zlatan was saying: 'Are you working as a pizza boy or are you playing football?'"
What they're saying
"Hauge is doing well and we are very good friends, he is a great talent. He has to continue to work hard and play like that, he has a great career ahead of him." - Haaland
"He's a smart and attentive boy, and has speed and technique." - AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli
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