Ørjan Nyland is on the verge of an impressive next step in his career. According to transfer market expert Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport the free-agent Norwegian is set to sign a contract with RB Leipzig.
Nyland endured a season of extremes. The 35-year-old goalkeeper served as Sevilla’s regular second choice behind the Greek Odysseas Vlachodimos and only featured in the Copa del Rey and during international breaks.
Despite that reserve role in Spain, head coach Ståle Solbakken kept faith with Nyland as Norway’s first choice. In March, for example, he played the full match as he and his team-mates lost a friendly to the Netherlands (2-1).
At the World Cup, Nyland was generally strong and produced a number of crucial saves in the knockout matches against Ivory Coast and Brazil. Then things went wrong in the quarter-final against England.
Against England, Nyland had also performed well for a long spell, but he spilled a fierce strike from Morgan Rogers. Jude Bellingham pounced (1-2) and Norway were unable to recover from that blow (1-2).
His contract with Sevilla expired this summer and, combined with his strong performances at the World Cup, that made him an attractive option for many clubs.
Leipzig needed to look for a goalkeeper because of the impending departure of Péter Gulácsi. The Hungarian (36) is embarking on an adventure with Villarreal in the autumn of his career.