Andreas Schjelderup: The Rising Star Chased by Europe's Elite

Andreas Schjelderup is no longer a quiet talent on the rise. He is the World Cup breakout who has suddenly become one of the most chased young attackers in Europe.

From Lisbon to the world stage, the 22-year-old Benfica winger has forced his way onto the shortlists of some of the continent’s heaviest hitters. Liverpool, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid have been tracking him for months. Now Milan and ambitious newcomers Como have joined the race, sensing an opportunity before his price climbs beyond reach.

Benfica’s €30m statement

Benfica know exactly what they have on their hands. According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Portuguese club now value Schjelderup at around €30 million – roughly double what Club Brugge were ready to pay in January.

Back then, a deal looked possible. Brugge pushed. Parma pushed too, with CEO Federico Cherubini later admitting they came close in the winter window but could not quite get it over the line.

Then everything changed.

Schjelderup hit a match-winning brace against Real Madrid, the kind of performance that transforms a player’s market status overnight. José Mourinho, alert to the shift, moved quickly and pulled him from the market. Any cut-price opportunity vanished with that decision. Benfica would wait. And they were right to.

A winger built for modern football

Schjelderup is the prototype of the modern wide forward. Left-footed, starting predominantly from the right but comfortable on either flank, he offers versatility and end product in equal measure.

Last season he delivered 10 goals and seven assists in 43 appearances across all competitions for Benfica. Those are not empty numbers. They are the statistical footprint of a player who affects games regularly, who forces defenders to make decisions they do not want to make.

For clubs like Milan, Liverpool or Barcelona, that profile matters. He can stretch the pitch, drift inside to combine, or attack the box as a secondary striker. For a newly ambitious project like Como, he would be a statement signing of an entirely different scale.

World Cup stage, World Cup impact

If his club season built the foundation, the World Cup has lit the fuse.

Used from the bench for Norway, Schjelderup stepped into a high-pressure moment and tilted a game. He came on against Senegal and helped turn a tight contest into a 3-2 win, a result that pushed Norway into the last 16 and pushed his name deeper into recruitment meetings across Europe.

This is exactly the kind of stage where reputations harden and valuations spike. A young winger delivering in decisive minutes at a World Cup is the sort of image that sticks in the minds of sporting directors and owners alike.

Barcelona watching, market heating

The list of admirers is no longer confined to England, Spain and Italy’s chasing pack. Barcelona have also been linked, viewing Schjelderup as a potential replacement option in the wide attacking role currently associated with Marcus Rashford in the rumour mill.

For now, the Norwegian is keeping his feet on the ground. Asked about the Barcelona talk, he did not bite.

“It would be fantastic if those rumours were true, but at the moment I don’t know anything concrete,” he said.

Measured, calm, but not dismissive. He knows what a move of that magnitude would mean. He also knows his performances are doing the talking for him.

Benfica hold the cards

With his value rising and his suitors multiplying, Benfica find themselves in a familiar position: holding a sought-after asset with time, leverage and no urgency to sell cheaply.

They have already turned away one market in January. Now they enter the summer – or the post-World Cup window – with Milan, Como, Liverpool, Tottenham, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona all circling to varying degrees.

The next move is not Schjelderup’s alone. It is a negotiation between potential, price and ambition.

Who blinks first: the club that cashes in, or the giant willing to stake a piece of its future on a left foot that suddenly looks built for the biggest stages?