The 23-year-old grabbed the headlines with his international exploits alongside one of the best striker’s in the world
Thelo Aasgaard and Erling Haaland
A monster mentality.
That’s how Thelo Aasgaard describes his pal – and Norwegian superstar – Erling Haaland.
And if the Rangers new boy can bring some of it back to his club, it might just ignite his Ibrox career.
After all, if there’s one thing you need to succeed at the Old Firm, it’s an elite mindset.
Aasgaard had a better international break than most last week.
He got a third cap for his adopted country and – more importantly – hit FOUR goals for Stale Solbakken’s side against Moldova in their World Cup qualifier.
The 23-year-old came off the bench in an incredible 11-1 victory at the Ullevaal Stadium and made a stunning impact.
Manchester City striker Haaland – who grabbed five goals in the rout – gave Aasgaard a helping hand with two assists, as well as handing him a penalty to claim his hat-trick.
The Gers ace was grateful for the gesture and says he’s learning all the time from the likes of Haaland and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.
Now, the former Wigan and Luton player wants to translate that into performances for Rangers.
An injury curtailed Aasgaard’s start at Ibrox but he’s now in Russell Martin’s starting line-up and played his part in their Old Firm draw with Celtic a fortnight ago.
After making a good impression at international level, he’s convinced that he’s about to catch fire for Gers. And Aasgaard says he can’t fail to improve playing alongside scarily good talents like Haaland.
Erling Haaland and Thelo Aasgaard
As he prepared to face Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, he said: “First of all, Erling is a brilliant character off the pitch.
“He’s a leader. He’s not the most senior player in the squad but he’s a big personality. Obviously on the pitch, he speaks for himself.
“He gave me the penalty the other night for my hat-trick which I think speaks volumes for his character. You can pick things up from Erling in terms of mentality.
“He’s a great example. His career has been a great progression and it’s clear that he’s got a monster mentality.
“It’s really important to stay strong and every time I go away, I learn so much – not just from him – but from all the players.
“We’ve got a really good team and I enjoy going away. Now, I can concentrate on this next block of games before the next break and I want to do as well as I can.
“The international break wasn’t bad for me, to be fair. I’m always happy just to go there in the first place. But getting some goals was amazing.
“I was quite emotional, to be honest, because I had my family in the stands. They’re proud of me anyway but for them to see me put in a good performance like that, they were over the moon.
“Of course, it’s a confidence boost for me. Now, I have to try and take it into the game on Saturday and I’ve got a good feeling. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come for me here at Rangers.
“All I can do is try and take it into my next game. I’m desperate to do well for this club and I know a lot of the lads are. We’ll soon gel together and I’m looking forward to that.”
Thelo Aasgaard has signed for Rangers(Image: Rangers FC)
Aasgaard might be predominantly a midfielder but he knows Martin signed him to score goals for Rangers. Or at the very least to be a creative force at Ibrox, supplying the strikers.
He’s relishing that challenge ahead of the Hearts game on Saturday – and insists it’s an area of his game that’s getting better every day.
Also, he’s convinced that watching guys like Haaland and Odegaard on international duty will sharpen up his awareness and decision making in the final third as well.
Aasgaard said: “The Rangers fans will expect goals from me and I’ll do my best. Throughout my career, I’ve become better at arriving in the box with one-touch finishes.
“That’s an element of my game that’s progressed really well so hopefully they’ll see that. One thing that separates the Norway lads – and makes you see why they’re at the top level – is their speed of thought.
“Before they get the ball, they know what they’re doing next. They make decisions in split seconds. That’s part of my game as well which hopefully can improve.
“It would be massive to win on Saturday. We got into every game feeling like that.
“But after the performance against Celtic and a lot of the lads doing well in the international break – we’ll gel together more as a new group, with new faces and we’re really looking forward to the weekend.
“Hopefully the squad is ready now and it would be a massive boost to get three points. For any team, it’s always going to take a while for relationships to form on the pitch. But the last week or so has been really good for the new faces to train together and gel.”
Rangers’ new signing Thelo Aasgaard(Image: PA)
Aasgaard’s talent isn’t just limited to the football pitch. The Merseyside-born Norwegian with a French mother also speaks three languages and plays instruments. And he says his background can help him perform at Ibrox.
He said: “That’s not a question I expected to get! Yeah, I come from a musical family. Although I was doing quite well in football, my parents always made sure I was doing well at school too.
“So it’s down to them making sure I was in line. I played the piano until I was 14. There are definitely some transferable skills from music.
“My dad is a musical performer so we have quite a lot in common – even though there are some things I can do differently!”