The Shining Light of a Battling Club: The Transition of Ivorian Franck to Norway’s Top Scorer

If Franck Boli, out of humility, doesn’t know his market value has risen, then the hype around him should be an enormous reminder.

So much is said about the striker these days. He took the Norwegian Premier League by storm this season and, for the very first time, is on the verge of securing a golden boot.

His ascension to the big times indicates a major shift in ambition, focus and from the life an average player he once lived before now.

Nordic Scouting AS know they would be fetching huge bucks in the event of any move for the attacker which looks likely to be next season with just three games to the conclusion of the Eliteserien.

With a contract elapsing June 2019, Rosenborg, Brann or Molde -the Norwegian league moneybags –wouldn’t want to pass the opportunity of bolstering their squad with the recruitment of the Ivorian.

Boli is a revered personality at his current club and his bond with them will continue to grow if he guides the Bærum-based outfit to safety from the foot of the table before departing for new pastures.

As a result, there can’t be any bigger preoccupation for the goal-getter than this, and he has three games to work the magic. Interestingly, never before has it occurred that a team bearing the league’s best scorer is suffering relegation in the Nordic nation.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] I’m not sure I’ll be a top scorer yet and it’s not so important either. The most important thing is that we keep our place (in the top tier)   [/perfectpullquote]

By November 24 when either Rosenborg or Molde is crowned champions, the golden boot chaser’s future would have been sealed.

For now, he prefers keeping his card close to his chest.

“I only think about the last three games and the points we must have. After that, I can start thinking about next season,” he continues.

The Yamoussoukro-born’s transformation began with the arrival of Herning Berg as coach half-way through the campaign when he had only a goal to his name.

Hated for his tactics, Franck seems to be the sole shining light of Herning’s otherwise abysmal tenure. Steering Stabaek from the claws of demotion, for the 24-year-old, will be saving the job of a man who helped revive a career which was destined for the backwaters.

He continued: “Henning has given me much more self-esteem and used me in the best position I’ve played in my whole life. Then I have to repay his trust in me.”

A China Trip that Bore No Fruits

How time flies. The uncapped Ivorian was sold to Chinese second-tier side Liaoning FC after his 13 goals for Stabaek in 2014.

The fee of £630,000 involved in the sale was a major coup for the Norwegians giving the paltry sum they forked out to pluck him from Cameroon’s Grassland FC three terms ago. The player had itched for the deal be sanctioned. Liaoning needed to release one of their foreign players to make room for Franck.

Months on, what was supposed to be a successful spell at Shenyang turned sour with the Ivorian failing to tick at a league deemed retirement home for Euro-based footballers.

Aalesund became his next stop on loan and then to Stabaek on a permanent contract where today he has morphed into the sensation every club is haggling to purchase.

Marcus Pedersen (14 goals) and Erling Braut Haaland (12 goals), his closest adversaries for the golden boot have stayed clear off the road due to injuries.

Sam Johnsen and Patrick Mortensen are the remaining contenders with each plundering a combined 11 goals.

In a season that has seen chaos trail his club, winning the gong becomes necessary on a personal level and this ambition was on manifest when Stababek faced Kristiansund at the Nadderud Stadion on Saturday.