Who is Albert Braut Tjaland? Erling Haaland's cousin scoring just as many goals as him

FT Desk

14 Oct 2022 05:00 CDT
3 min read

Erling Haaland and Albert Braut Tjaland — © ProShots

Erling Haaland has lit up the Premier League since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, but there are more goal-machines than just him in the family…

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Haaland has scored 20 goals from just 13 games in all competitions since swapping Dortmund for Manchester in a €60 million deal this summer, bulging the net every 52.5 minutes he has played.

Haaland's father Alfie was a defensive midfielder for City in his pomp, while his mother is former heptathlete Gry Marita Braut, and it is on her side of the family where another couple of young strikers lurk in the shape of Erling's cousins Jonatan Braut Brunes and Albert Braut Tjaland.

Brunes is a 22-year-old now at Stromsgodset who, like Haaland, came through at Bryne, while 18-year-old Tjaland emulated Haaland's second step in signing for Molde last year - although he is back on loan at Bryne and scoring goals for fun.

Éste es Albert Braut Tjaland. Tiene 18 años, es primo de Erling Haaland, juega en Noruega y hace cosas como éstas. 🤩🇳🇴⚽pic.twitter.com/HfrJKUPUSP
— Fodboldworld (@fodboldword) October 12, 2022

What position does Tjaland play in?

Like Haaland, Tjaland is every inch a striker. Slightly shorter than the 6'4" Erling, Tjaland is still eerily similar physically to the Man City man. Perhaps the biggest difference between them is that Tjaland is right-footed, but like Haaland, he loves nothing more than playing on the shoulder of the last defender.

How good is Tjaland?

Tjaland was widely credited with scoring 69 goals in 48 games in Bryne's youth ranks before moving to Molde in 2020, although those stats may have been inflated following international interest in his first Molde goal, scored against Spjelkavik in the Norwegian Cup last July.

What is certain is that Tjaland averaged more than a goal per game in Bryne's youth ranks, and has scored seven times in eight games for their reserves in 2022. Tjaland is also a Norway youth international striker.

What clubs are interested in Tjaland?

It would be fair to say that at this early stage Tjaland's interest remains at the "keeping tabs" stage, but Manchester United would no doubt love to get one over City having missed out on Haaland when Ole Gunner Solskjaer - Aflie's former Norway teammate - was at the helm in 2020.

When does Tjaland's contract expire?

Molde did not release details of Tjaland's contract when he was signed last year, but other teenagers on their books like Datro Fofana and Johan Bakke have deals which run until 31 December 2024.