The Norwegians who transformed the Premier League before Erling Haaland

When Alf-Inge Haaland made his Nottingham Forest debut in February 1994, it was the latest step in a quiet revolution that helped define the Premier League’s course

PIONEERS: Lars Bohinen, Alf-Inge Haaland, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were part of the early influx of Norwegian players into the Premier League. Pics: Getty Images

When Alf-Inge Haaland made his Nottingham Forest debut in February 1994, featuring in a resounding win over Leicester, it was the latest step in a quiet revolution that helped define the Premier League’s course. Haaland and his compatriot Lars Bohinen were heavily involved in Forest’s return to the top flight that spring and, back then, neither player could have predicted where Norway’s influence on English football would lead.

“We were kind of pioneers at the time,” says Bohinen, who joined Forest from Young Boys that season, of the influx that crossed the North Sea. “We didn’t make any waves, we were just constantly being professional and producing performances. I think that’s why we had so many players doing well in England.”