Albert Braut Tjåland Follows In His Cousin's Footsteps And Scores On Molde FK Debut

Albert Braut Tjåland has followed in the footsteps of his cousin by scoring on his Molde FK debut in a Norwegian Cup clash against Spjelkavik IL.

The 17-year-old striker, who is related to Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, is no stranger to bagging goals. In the 2019/20 campaign, he netted 40 goals in 31 games when he was coming through the youth ranks at Bryne FK.

Last season, the 6ft 1in forward then netted 64 times in 37 games for Molde FK's youth team and well, he's showing no signs of slowing down after being promoted to the first-team set-up.

Tjåland was given some valuable experience by manager Erling Moe against fourth division side Spjelkavik in the Norwegian Cup on Sunday afternoon.

Molde ended up recording a dominant 4-1 win thanks to goals from Magnus Grødem, David Fofana, Ola Brynhildsen and you guessed it, that man Albert Braut Tjåland.

The teenager produced a composed finish after being gifted a one-on-one opportunity following a lapse of judgment from the Spjelkavik defender. The first of many? Most likely.

Albert's cousin, Erling Haaland, also made his competitive debut for Molde during a Norwegian Cup match. He bagged in a 3-2 win against Volda TI in 2017.

Two months later, he would score his first league goal for the club and, although he only netted four times in 20 appearances for the Norwegian side in his debut campaign, Haaland would go on to earn himself a move to RB Salzburg the following season.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Upon signing for the club last season, Albert Braut Tjåland explained his decision to join one of the biggest clubs in the Eliteserien.

"I chose Molde because they have very good facilities," he told VG. "They received me very well, were interested in me and had good plans for me.

"I look forward to my time in Molde. It is a very nice place where I can develop. I talked to him [Haaland]. He said it was a good place to develop but I made the choice myself."

Like his relative, Tjåland has lofty ambitions. In a Q&A session with Instagram page RisingBallers earlier this year, the youngster expressed his desire to play for the best team in the world.

"Of course I want to play in the best team in the world," he said. "My favourite team is Liverpool so..."

Are you listening, Jurgen? I have a feeling this won't be the last time we hear the name; Albert Braut Tjåland.

Topics: Football, Erling Haaland, Norway

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_