Yahoo News Tobias Lauritsen transfer state of play as Birmingham City threaten League One record
Birmingham City are among the clubs interested in Norwegian centre-forward Tobias Lauritsen.
Lauritsen is in-demand this summer after a strong goal scoring season for Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam and Fussballeuropa has credited Blues with an interest. The 26-year-old fired 13 goals and recorded nine assists in 32 Eredivisie games for Rotterdam last term, building on the previous campaign where he netted 13 and assisted five in 38 outings.
He only moved to the Netherlands two years ago from Odd after a few goal-laden years in Norwegian football. Lauritsen hasn’t yet broken into Norway’s national team, although his path is blocked by a certain Erling Haaland.
With a year remaining on his contract at Rotterdam, Lauritsen could well be on the move this summer and there is shaping up to be a scramble for his signature. It is worth noting that Rotterdam hold an option to extend his deal by a year which gives them a stronger negotiating position.
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BirminghamLive understands Lauritsen is on Blues’ radar but there are several clubs in the running, some of whom can offer European football. Turkish side Trabzonspor – who will play in the Europa League next term after a third-placed finish in the Super Lig – are said to be keen on Lauritsen. Serie A side Hellas Verona reportedly coveted Lauritsen in the January transfer window.
Blues will have a job on their hands to convince Lauritsen to spend a season in English football’s third tier. The club are being ambitious and, according to manager Chris Davies, want players for the next two or three seasons rather than just players to get the club out of League One.
“There’s a lot of work going on identifying targets and assessing current players that we have based on observation and the data that we get provided,” said Davies. “There’s a lot of work going on and what’s important to me is I navigate that process with the right level of calm.
“We are being proactive and we are getting business done to bring players in to help us but at the same time we need to understand it’s going to take time to assemble the squad that’s going to be, not just a squad that stays with us for one season, but hopefully two or three. There’s a lot of work going on and a lot of good people here working hard behind-the-scenes and step by step we will get there and build a really good squad.”
There is a chance that Blues will break the League One transfer record, which currently stands at £4 million. Sunderland paid Wigan Athletic that figure in 2019 to secure the services of Brummie striker Will Grigg.
Rotterdam reportedly paid £600,000 to sign Lauritsen from Odd in 2022 and there has been suggestions they could demand up to 10 times that figure to part with him this year. Lauritsen has a €5m (£4.2m) valuation on Transfermarkt.
Rotterdam aren’t exactly discouraging interest in Lauritsen either. Their technical director, Gerard Nijkamp, told ESPN: "We will not sell him for less than five million euros, but the market determines the exact amount.”
Given Lauritsen’s recent scoring record, his ability to create for his teammates, and his physical profile – a 6ft 4in centre-forward who is reasonably mobile – it isn’t a surprise to see he has so many suitors. Blues have offered veteran striker Lukas Jutkiewicz a new contract but last season's top scorer Jay Stansfield has returned to his parent club Fulham and Scott Hogan has been released, leaving the club with vacancies in its striking department.
