Vålerenga Fotball have identified Tromsø sporting director Lars Petter Kræmer-Andressen as their top candidate to become the club's new football director. The process has been ongoing, with several meetings already held between the parties.

The club plans to split the previous sporting director role into two, with the football director being one of them. Current sporting director Joacim Jonsson has already announced he will leave Vålerenga at the end of the season. Kræmer-Andressen, 39, is highly valued by his current employer Tromsø, but has also bought a house in Oslo, and his children are already living there.

  • Lars Petter has delivered a six out of six in Tromsø in recent years, and every Norwegian club hunting for a sporting director naturally has him very high on their list, says TV 2 football expert Jesper Mathisen.

Mathisen believes the move makes sense for both sides., In that sense, it makes a lot of sense for him to say yes to VIF. It is an exciting challenge, which must be tempting for many sporting directors, he says.

The process has taken time because Kræmer-Andressen wants clear answers about how Vålerenga will be governed moving forward. The club is described as quite far from any clear pattern in its sporting structure. Tromsø's impressive build-up in recent years, where player recruitment and logistics are credited with much of the success, is a model Vålerenga wish to learn from.

Context in a difficult season

The recruitment hunt comes as Vålerenga find themselves in a difficult 12th place in the Eliteserien with 22 points from 20 games. Their last five matches have yielded three defeats and two draws, a run of form that makes the next fixture key. The team face Fredrikstad at home on Sunday, an opponent currently sitting in 7th place.

With just six wins from 20 matches and a goal difference of minus nine, the need for a new sporting direction is clear. Top scorer Ludvig Haren has eight goals, but the team has conceded 42. An overview of the full squad is available on squad.

A decisive home match against Fredrikstad awaits this weekend, which could be a turning point for a team in need of points to secure their position.

The original report is at TV2 Sport (NO)