Record maker

After more than 20 years in the game, Jim Solbakken, one of the elite agents in Scandinavia, entered the Eliteserien record books.

The sale of his client Erik Botheim from Bodø/Glimt to FC Krasnodar is set to be the biggest deal out of the Norwegian top-flight, a fee of around NOK 80m (€8m), rising to a potential NOK 100m with associated bonuses.

After scoring 22 goals in 46 games in 2021 as Bodø/Glimt retained the title, Botheim’s stock had never been higher.

But was he available to buy? 

TransferRoom’s PlusPitch feature was the starting point for the ground-breaking transfer.

“The PlusPitch helps to promote the players and helps to get in contact with the club,” Solbakken explained to TransferRoom. “From the first initial contact and interest to actually closing the deal, there was more direct contact offline. 

“But definitely it was very, very important to promote Erik Botheim, to get in contact with Krasnodar and to make the interest real. It may even be that that particular club did not know the player until we pitched him to them. So the PlusPitch is super important at the start of a deal to spark some interest. 

“For sure I can make clubs aware of some potential deals on TransferRoom.”

A deal done direct

Even for an agent with 20 years’ experience, having that direct contact with a club’s decision-maker at an early stage can make potential transfers easier to negotiate.

Solbakken became a TransferRoom Trusted Agent a little over six months ago and now he has already secured a large return on his investment.

He continued: “The messaging service on the platform is really good and it makes the industry of football easier, no doubt. Clubs who use TransferRoom actively will find it really helpful. And that’s my feedback from them - it’s a tool that makes their industry easier.”

Botheim's two goals and three assists in Bodø/Glimt’s astonishing 6-1 demolition of AS Roma in the UEFA Europa Conference League in October 2021 threw a wider spotlight on the 22-year-old.

It certainly alerted Krasnodar and the awareness of his subsequent availability on TransferRoom was the catalyst for a move to southern Russia.

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