Trond Heggem says West Brom were central to his son's rise from Sweden to the World Cup stage. He said Torbjørn Heggem had been in Sweden two years ago, when “no-one knew who he was”, and now he is part of Norway's tournament run. The family now call themselves “Baggies forever”.
West Brom's role in the move
The detail that stands out is how small the first move was, and how big the next step became. West Brom signed Heggem from IF Brommapojkarna in July 2024 for just under £600,000. One season later, Bologna paid £10m for the centre back, and Baggies fans only had that one campaign to watch him at The Hawthorns.
Trond Heggem did not hide his gratitude. Speaking to BBC, he said, “He had a tremendous time, unbelievable time at West Bromwich, and if it hadn't been for them being able to see him in Sweden and picking him up, he wouldn't be in the World Cup right now, I'm quite sure.” That is his view, and it is easy to see why he feels that way when the career jump is laid out so plainly.
Heggem's tournament role for Norway
The World Cup numbers back up the fact that Heggem is not there for decoration. He has 373 minutes across 4 appearances and a 6.93 rating for the tournament. England are the obvious threat in the next test of that run, with Harry Kane on 6 goals in 5 World Cup appearances and a 7.55 rating of his own.
Norway have won 4 of their last 5 World Cup matches, and Trond Heggem is backing them to beat England 2-1. That prediction is just that, a prediction, but the rest of the story is concrete enough. Two years ago, Heggem was in Sweden and largely unknown. Now he has gone from a bargain arrival at West Brom to a player in Norway's World Cup picture, with Bologna the next stop after a single season in England.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →