Ross County have added defender Leo Hjelde on loan from Celtic for the rest of the season – with John Hughes wasting no time in thrusting the 17-year-old straight into Premiership action.
Norwegian Hjelde arrived at Victoria Park with no senior experience, which is understandable given he does not turn 18 until August.
The left-sided defender is clearly highly thought of at Parkhead, however, having been brought to Scotland from Rosenborg in 2019.
Although Hjelde has predominantly played for Celtic’s development squad, he has occasionally trained with Neil Lennon’s first team and was on the bench in a recent 1-1 draw with Hibernian in which 13 senior players were self-isolating due to Covid-19.
That grounding has provided Hughes with the confidence to blood Hjelde straight into the first team, which he showed by fielding him in Saturday’s match against runaway Premiership leaders Rangers at Ibrox.
On that occasion, Hjelde was pitched in as a left centre-half in a back five, on what proved to be a difficult afternoon for the Staggies as they went down 5-0 to a high-flying Gers side.
Hjelde’s versatility was shown when he switched to a left-back role for Wednesday’s home match against Motherwell, but ultimately could not prevent the Staggies going down to a 2-1 defeat.
Despite featuring in two losses so far, Hjelde’s desire to get on the ball and support the attack has already been clear to see.
Even in County’s defeat to Rangers, in which the home side dominated possession, Hjelde had 55 touches – which was by some distance the most of any Staggies player (goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw had 43, while Iain Vigurs was the next highest outfield player on 41).
As you’ll see in the graphic above, he also produced the most open play crosses of any County player (from centre-back remember).
Against Motherwell, Hjelde had even more touches, with his tally of 58 the second highest of the side behind Harry Paton on 61.
Although this shows an active role in County’s play, Hjelde’s distribution statistics across the two games show his passing accuracy was not as high as the majority of his team-mates.
His good passes and crosses tally (19 against Rangers, 17 against Motherwell) will give Hughes plenty hope this can be fine-tuned in the coming weeks, however, as his involvement has the potential to make him a key asset in the Staggies boss’ desired possession style of football.
Hjelde’s attacking contribution has also been noticeable through his 180 minutes of action so far as evidenced by his touchmaps. Despite County being pinned back for large spells against the Gers, Hjelde averaged a position higher than his fellow centre backs Callum Morris and Alex Iacovitti, with his touchmap also showing a tangible influence in the Gers’ half.
The switch to left-back for the Well encounter gave Hjelde even more licence to contribute to the attack, and he had a role to play in County’s goal with an angled cross-field pass which released Jermaine Hylton in the build up to Oli Shaw’s finish.
Hjelde looks to have a strong role model in Kristoffer Ajer
Hjelde’s willingness to step out and drive the ball further up the pitch, as shown by his heatmaps, has drawn comparisons with Hoops team-mate and fellow countryman Kristoffer Ajer, who similarly made the switch from Norway to Scotland during his teenage years.
Like Hjelde, Ajer has demonstrated versatility to comfortably switch to full-back, where those attributes are equally if not more effective.
Ajer also benefitted from a loan spell in the Premiership with Kilmarnock prior to breaking into the Celtic first team, and Hjelde, who is similarly blessed with a strong physical stature, will be hoping his spell with the Staggies can provide him with a platform for his return to Parkhead in the summer.
