Arsenal or Chelsea? Wonderkid 'waiting' for dream move
IFK Goteborg wonderkid Oliver Mansson has named his dream club amid links with Arsenal and Chelsea.
The 17-year-old has burst onto the scene this year and is increasingly making a name for himself in Scandinavia. Mansson, a central midfielder by trade, won a starting spot over the summer and is refusing to relinquish it.
The Sweden youth international has made 17 senior appearances for Goteborg so far. Incredibly, for a player so young and with no previous senior experience, Mansson has started a whopping 14 of his 17 matches.
He has only been a substitute across all competitions three times since mid-July, and his emergence over the summer has helped Blavitt massively improve their results. Goteborg have lost just two Allsvenskan matches when Mansson has started.
When he hasn't played, or has only been a substitute, the team's record is a staggering two wins, four draws and six losses from 12 games in league play. Goteborg were in a relegation battle before Mansson came into the side; now, they're comfortably in mid-table and one of Sweden's in-form teams.
Mansson reveals his dream club
Over the weekend, links with Arsenal and Chelsea emerged. It was claimed that the Premier League giants had been left impressed with the teenager's development and that they were closely tracking him.
At the weekend, Mansson played the full 90 minutes as Goteborg and hated rivals AIK slugged it out in an exciting 2-2 draw in Stockholm. After the match, the midfielder was inevitably asked about the transfer speculation.
Speaking to Expressen, Mansson admitted that he only found out about the supposed interest from Arsenal and Chelsea via social media. "No, I had no idea," he confessed. "I saw it on social media like everyone else. So, no, I didn't know that."
When told to pick between the London sides, he laughed and insisted that "it's hard to choose." That's because Mansson does not have a favourite Premier League team - he's a Barcelona fan.
"No, I actually don't. I don't," the 17-year-old said in response to being asked if there is an English team he supports. "It's been Barca for me, but, well, it's always fun to have interest if there's something. It's the way it is."
The interviewer then quipped that Mansson is basically waiting for Barcelona to get in touch, prompting another chuckle from the youngster and the joking response: "Yes, exactly!"
In other words, it's way too early for Mansson to start worrying about a transfer to an elite club.
