Hugo Vetlesen is enjoying his football at the moment. The former Bodø/Glimt midfeidler has scored three goals in four games and is starting to really look like the player Club Brugge signed a few years ago. Last season, and for much of this season, Vetlesen has had to bide his time for a starting spot. In 21 Pro Legaue matches, the 26-year-old Norwegian has only started 11. In Europe, he started just two of nine games.
Ivan Leko has turned to Vetlesen since the start of the play-offs, and he has not been let down. At the weekend, it was his fine strike during the first half that set Club Brugge on their way to victory over Gent. With that goal, he has now scored the most goals during the play-offs this season.
After a strong first season in Belgium, in which Vetlesen scored seven goals and provided four assists, his last season and half have not been as eye catching. Many hoped he could potentially be a long-term replacement for Hans Vanaken, a creative midfielder who could also score goals. These expectations were not unwarranted, given that during the 2022 Eliteserien season he scored 20 goals and grabbed eight assists in 47 games for Bodø/Glimt.
Last season, Vetlesen only scored two goals and provided four assists. Many of the players who have left Bodø/Glimt in recent seasons have since returned after struggling to replicate their form abroad. Vetlesen looked to be heading this way, until this recent run of fine form. He now has six goals and three assists in 34 games. With just a handful of games to go in the Belgian Pro League, Vetlesen looks set to have a chance to have his best scoring season in Belgium. With a contract set to expire next summer, Vetlesen may be doing enough to convince Club Brugge to extend, or other clubs to begin to look at signing him at the end of his current deal.
In an interview with HLN, Vetlesen talked about how he views himself as a leader, a role he wants to bring to Club Brugge. Vetlesen said ‘I think I have always been the leader you see now. Even in my first season. I am just myself. You try to take steps forward and take responsibility. It is something I enjoy doing. Some people are only seeing it now, but I have always done that. Even when I was dropped from the squad and sitting on the bench’.
GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson
