Another player has joined the FC Krasnodar squad. A 25-year-old attacking midfielder of the Sweden national team, Viktor Claesson, will defend the black-green colors.
Viktor Johan Anton Claesson was born on 2 January 1992 in a small Swedish town of Värnamo. He began his professional career at the age of 17 in a club of the same name that was competing in the tier 3 national league, Division 1 Södra at the time. The team with young Claesson ended the season 2009 in the 7th position. Following the results of the next season 2010, IFK Värnamo was able to leave everyone behind in the standings and was effectively elevated to a higher Superettan division.
It was in the second-best Swedish Superettan league where Viktor brought himself into view of the specialists, so after the season 2011 ended he signed a contract with IF Elfsborg from Borås, a club from the elite Swedish Allsvenskan league.
In the next five years he spent with this club Claesson became the leader of the team, its engine and a principal creative link. Able to play a box-to-box midfielder, an inside player, on the left flank and even a centre-forward, in his country Viktor is considered a master of the final pass. He also possesses a good shot with his right foot, so he frequently scores himself. In 177 official matches for Elfsborg he earned 82 points (goal plus pass) meaning he marked himself with either a goal or an assist more or less once in every two matches. As for the trophies, he and his Borås team became the Allsvenskan winners in 2012 and the Svenska Cupen winners in 2014.
Naturally, Claesson’s talent did not go unnoticed with the coaches of the Sweden national team. After all stages of the national youth squads (U17, U19 and U21) Viktor received his first summon to the Sweden’s first team in 2012 where so far he has capped nine times scoring one goal.
As for now IF Elfsborg and FC Krasnodar have agreed upon the details of Viktor Claesson’s transfer. The player has successfully passed a medical examination after which a contract expiring on 20 Jun 2020 was signed with him. Claesson will join the Bulls at their second winter training camp that will begin in Spain on January 29th.
Career statistics for Viktor Claesson
|
Years |
Club |
Matches |
Goals |
Assts |
|
2009-2011 |
IFK Värnamo, Sweden (tier 3 and tier 2 leagues) |
71 |
29 |
25 |
|
2012-2016 |
IF Elfsborg, Borås, Sweden (Allsvenskan) |
177 |
45 |
37 |
|
2008-2010 |
Sweden national U17 and U19 teams |
8 |
- |
- |
|
2011-2012 |
Sweden national U21 team |
20 |
1 |
- |
|
2012 - |
Sweden national team |
9 |
1 |
- |
All stats are shown with the inclusion of the national Cup and UEFA Cup games