On 13 April 2016 at the age of 16, Jens Petter Hauge came on as a substitute in a cup tie for Bodø/Glimt and immediately grabbed the headlines, scoring a hat-trick on his debut.
Later that year, Bodø/Glimt were relegated to the second division but were promoted back to the top flight the following season. Hauge was soon loaned out to second-division Aalesund but endured a frustrating spell, playing several games for their reserves in the fourth tier of Norwegian football.
Norwegian players in Eintracht's history
- Jörn Andersen (1988-1994): 115 games, 39 goals
- Tore Pedersen (1998-2000): 20 games, 1 goal
- Jan Aage Fjörtoft (1999-2001): 54 games, 17 goals
- Tommy Berntsen (2001-2002): 3 games
- Vadim Demidov (2012-2013): 6 games
- Jens Petter Hauge (since 2021)
Once he returned to Bodø/Glimt, however, the mobile 1.84m midfielder established himself on the left wing and went on to score 35 goals in 117 appearances – statistics that saw AC Milan come calling. In his first European match for the Rossoneri, he was on the scoresheet just 12 minutes after coming on as a substitute, in what ended up being a 3-1 win over Celtic.
As the season went on, Hauge continued to shine on the international stage, registering three goals and one assist in five appearances, while also impressing in Serie A.
He had plenty of competition for a spot up front – 15 of his 18 domestic appearances came from the bench – but he still managed to score another couple of goals in what was his first season in one of Europe’s top leagues. As Eintracht board member for sport Markus Krösche said of the new recruit, “he’s taken his first steps on the international stage at one of the biggest clubs in the world”.
"Jens Petter is obviously an incredibly versatile player in the final third. He can play on either wing or behind the main striker. Or he can play in a two up front, he’s incredibly pacy and always a goal threat, and he set up a heck of a lot of goals during his time in Milan, so he’s someone who fits our set-up perfectly. We’re really pleased that he’s joined us. At the end of the day, we want to be flexible and our goal is to be unpredictable. He’ll help us to be flexible with his skills and his determination when it comes to one-on-ones, which he tends to do very well in", said Krösche on the new signing.
After a year in Milan, Hauge has now come to join us at Eintracht and we are delighted to welcome him to Frankfurt!
