On Tuesday evening Brighton announced the capture of free agent Vegard Forren on a deal until the end of the season.
The Norwegian international centre half passed a medical at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre earlier on Tuesday and with the paperwork completed, his arrival was announced following victory over Rotherham United.
The 29 year old has spent his playing career with Molde across two spells, as he made the move to Southampton back in January 2013 for a reported £4million, but six months later he returned to Molde having not made a first team debut.
He has 33 international caps to his name and he obviously comes in as cover and as long as his international clearance comes through in time, he could potentially debut against Derby County on Friday night.
Speaking to the Official Site manager Chris Hughton said of the deal.
‘Vegard is a player the club had been aware of for sometime, and with the absence of Shane Duffy and Connor Goldson, we felt it was important to take this opportunity to add to our defensive options. Vegard has played the majority of his career for Molde, one of the top clubs in Norway, and has an excellent pedigree having also played in the Champions League, Europa League and 33 times for his country. With Shane out for a minimum of six weeks, alongside Lewis Dunk, Uwe Huenemeier and Fikayo Tomori, Vegard gives us another central defensive option for the run-in.’
Speaking himself yesterday after the deal was done, Forren explained that he was determined to make an impact in his second chance in the country.
‘I`ve been waiting for this chance for a long time because it didn`t work out too well for me last time. I really want this and hope I can come, learn a lot from my last time in England and fight for what we`re all aiming for, which is promotion to the Premier League. That motivates me a lot and hopefully I can show that I`m a very good player that can help the team. I love to win and need to win, so for me to get this chance to win with this big club is a perfect opportunity and hopefully I can bring that mentality to this team. I have the experience and I know what it takes to win after winning the Norwegian title three times, playing in the Europa League and for the national team too. Hopefully I can come here and go up because I can see already that this is a big club that wants to win.’
Forren went on to say he heard about our interest in him some time ago, so when the chance to conclude a deal was on the table he had no hesitation in signing on.
‘I heard some rumours a couple of months ago of the interest, but I didn`t know if it was true because you hear so many rumours in football about how many clubs want you. But when they came in, it was an easy choice for me. I`ve been searching for a good club for almost two months and this is a perfect fit for me. I am in good shape to do a good job, so a game on Friday would be perfect. I can`t wait to go and train with the guys for the game, and hopefully I can be part of the team.’
