(Football news) Ola Solbakken is set to join Roma as a free agent from Bodo/Glimt, as the Norwegian international joins forces with Jose Mourinho. The 24-year-old has landed in Rome and is set to undergo his medical with the Giallorossi before signing a long term contract until 2027. He will be available to join the capital side from January 1, 2023. Solbakken had faced Roma in the Conference League last season when the two sides met each other four times, first in the group stage and then in the quarter-finals.

He had impressed Mourinho when he had bagged a brace in the famous 6-1 win against the Giallorossi in October 2021 which was one of the most humiliating defeats in the history of AS Roma in Europe. Solbakken is a former academy product of Melhus and Rosenborg as he joined Bodo in January 2020. He made his senior debut for Norway last year and has three international caps to his name with the national team. He is a left-footed winger as the Norway international mostly plays on the right but can play on the opposite flank. He often starts on the wide and cuts inside to create opportunities for himself or his teammates.

He is a technically gifted player despite being 1,86m tall, so he can also be a threat in the air to the opposing defences thanks to his physical prowess. Mourinho this season has been using a 3-4-2-1 formation, so Solbakken is expected to play as one of the two attacking midfielders or play behind a sole striker but  it’s more unlikely Mourinho deploys him on the wings, where he’d have to track back more to help the defence. This means that either Paulo Dybala or Nicolò Zaniolo could see their playing time reduced if Solbakken has a strong impact playing in the starting XI. However, he will be available from January and is not expected to feature in Roma’s tour to Japan between the end of November and December as he is under contract with Bodo until the end of this year.

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