Tijan Jaiteh joins Sandnes Ulf

Tijan Jaiteh quits Sandefjord to join Sandnes Ulf

Norwegian Tippeligaen [top tier] club Sandnes Ulf has signed Gambia international midfielder Tijan Jaiteh on a two-year contract from Adeccoligaen [second tier] side Sandefjord, this blog can reveal.

The Scorpions midfielder, who wasn’t short of offers from clubs in Norway and abroad, left Sandefjord after two years at the Vestfold-based club to pen a deal that will see him stay at Sandnes Ulf until 2016, snubbing interest from long-time admirers IK Start.

The former Randers FC and SK Brann midfielder became a free player at the end of the 2013 Adeccoligaen season following the expiry of his two-year deal with Sandefjord.

“He [Tijan] is a player who has delivered well at Sandefjord [for the] past two years. He is a central midfielder with good physique, good duel player and a player that fits very well into our philosophy,” Sandnes Ulf’s Club Director Tom Rune Espedal said of his team’s capture of the former Gambia Ports Authority midfielder.

“We have been in dialogue for some time now with Jaiteh and we are therefore satisfied that the signature is now in place. He was very promising at Sandefjord and has now taken a new direction as a footballer.”

“He is a big boy who will bring a lot to us [because of his] aggressive style of play and [he is] a defensive midfielder with good ball skills. He also has some other skills that the midfielders in our squad don’t have,” Espedal added.

Sandnes Ulf manager Asle Andersen also expressed his delight in securing the signature of the one-time Norwegian Tippeligaen champion.

“He complemented with the players we have. Jaiteh has dominated the Adeccoligaen [for two seasons] and has great experience during his time with Brann [winning the Tippeligaen in 2007]. I would describe him as a player who is good in the movements, good duel player and one that can go into a ball benefits the middle,” Andersen told the club’s official website.

“I am especially pleased to bring in a midfield type [of player] that is a little bit different, and we have got good references on him.”

Speaking to this blog, the 24-year-old Gambian confirmed his move to Sandnes Ulf but used the opportunity to thank his former club for the support offered to him in the past two years.

“I put pen to paper some days ago. I think it’s a very good thing for me and a very exciting time. Sandefjord has been very supportive to me and I want to thank them for that,” Tijan told this blog.

When asked why he took the decision to stay in the Scandinavian country and snub interest from clubs abroad in France and Portugal, Tijan said the offer from Sandnes Ulf was too good to turn down.

“I decided to stay in Norway because the offer this team gave me, I think it will be very difficult for me to get this again. I don’t know when such chance will come my way again if I don’t take it at this moment. I have nothing to lose because I am going to the top league in Norway and I have a very good opportunity to show myself and maybe get a bigger opportunity,” he said.

It could be recalled that Tijan had his loan spell at Danish 1st Division side Randers FC terminated after he came to The Gambia on a vacation at the end of the 2011 Danish Superligaen season and showed his commitment for his country by accepting an invitation to play against visiting DR Congo in a friendly, a game which he played without getting the green light from them, which according to the then relegated club, is an infringement of his contract terms.

After the termination of his contract by Randers, his parent club in Norway, SK Brann also announced that it has parted company with the midfielder by mutual consent after the player stated that he wants to build a career outside of Scandinavia with reports linking him to a move in Italy but nothing concrete came out of those reports.