Premier League transfers are often long drawn out processes in the modern day, with speculation, contract negotiations and fee agreements making deals unnecessarily tedious. Back in the 1990s, though, transfers were a lot more efficient.
Jan Age Fjortoft soon came to realise that fact during his time in England between 1993 and 1998, as he moved between Swindon, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Barnsley.
After scoring 12 goals for the Robins in his debut Premier League campaign, strong performances in the second tier then earned Fjortoft a move to Middlesbrough midway through the 1994/95 season. Signed by Bryan Robson, Fjortoft helped Boro gain promotion to the Premier League, but a lack of proficiency in front of goal saw Fabrizio Ravanelli sign in the summer of 1996.
Premier League transfer came out of the blue for Fjortoft
With first team minutes limited, Fjortoft dropped into the second tier to sign for Sheffield United halfway through 1996/97, where he managed 10 goals in 17 games. Nine in 17 at the start of the next campaign had piqued the interest of Premier League sides, with Barnsley the team to take the plunge on the Norwegian striker.
Fjortoft didn’t find out about their interest in conventional fashion, however, as he reveals being told in the showers after a Division One game against Bury.
“After playing against Bury for Sheffield United, I was in the shower when the secretary came into the dressing room,” Fjortoft exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “I was standing there with shampoo in my eyes when he shouted, ‘Jan, we’ve agreed to sell you to Barnsley’.
“I knew there was a good chance Barnsley were going to be relegated, but I liked their manager [Danny Wilson] very much. It felt amazing to be back in the Premier League.
“In Barnsley, just like in Swindon, I found a town proud to be competing with the big boys.”
As Fjortoft expected, Barnsley were relegated from the top flight, the second of his career in England, though that hasn’t stopped him from looking back with rose-tinted glasses at his five years on British shores.
“Playing in the Premier League in the 1990s, I was between the old English football and the new English football,” Fjortoft adds.
“All of the shirt sponsors were breweries and they would give us some of their ‘stock’ on our bus journeys back from games. There was also a massive respect for fellow players. When we lost 4-0 to Arsenal, Ian Wright came over to me and said, ‘Jan, you’ll be OK’.”
