Celtic have landed Iceland's version of Gary Hooper in Aron Fridjonsson says Jim Bett

JIM BETT reckons Celtic may have finally found the next Gary Hooper in Icelandic kid Holmbert Aron Fridjonsson.
Former Rangers, Aberdeen and Scotland star Bett has watched Fram star Fridjonsson blossom into one of the hottest properties in Icelandic football.


He’s a penalty-box predator in the mould of ex-Celt Hooper, who was sold to Norwich for £5.2million, and Bett reckons it will be great business if the 20-year-old can be secured for £100,000. Fridjonsson netted 12 goals in 23 appearances last season as Fram just avoided relegation. The 6ft 3in hitman is also an Under-21 international and scored last month against France.


Bett, who played in Iceland with Valur and KR Reykjavik, said: “Fridjonsson has become a hot property in Icelandic football and his goal ratio of one every two games speaks for itself. “That’s an impressive strike rate for any attacker no matter what league you play in. The youngster is highly rated and has been earning rave reviews.

“In Iceland they’ve shown all his goals on TV and I would rate him a penalty-box striker in the mould of Gary Hooper.
“He does most of his damage in and around the six-yard box.


“You hesitate to put pressure on the lad by labelling him before he has kicked a ball for Celtic but he has the potential to make a similar impact to Hooper at Celtic Park. “For an outlay of just £100,000 Celtic would be getting a decent player with the raw ingredients and a keen eye for goal. “Celtic are not taking any great risk at that price so it really is a win-win situation for everybody. “Celtic are traditionally a team that creates a lot of chances so it stands to reason that Fridjonsson would score goals for them.


“I think Celtic are the right club for him and that this move has come at the right time. He has so much promise I could see him getting an early opportunity in Neil Lennon’s side. “I believe Dutch side Heracles are also keen on him after trials there but it would make perfect sense for him to join Celtic.”

Icelandic football is currently on a high after the full international side qualified for the World Cup play-offs. They face Croatia in Reykjavik in the first leg tonight and it’s a 10,000 sell-out. Iceland – with a population of just 325,000 – could make history by becoming the smallest country to qualify for the finals.


Bett said: “It is currently snowing in Iceland. Their players are well used to such conditions and the hope is that will give them an advantage over Croatia. “Reaching the World Cup play-offs has gripped the country and everyone wants to see the game. It would be a really monumental achievement for a country like Iceland with such a small population to get through to play in Brazil next summer.”


Wily old coach Lars Lagerbeck has some good players, including Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigporsson, who has scored 13 goals in 19 appearances for Iceland, Spurs star Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cardiff’s Aron Einar Gunnarsson, the captain and anchor of his midfield. Bett said: “Fridjonsson is an example of the young talent that Iceland has coming through these days.


“More and more players from the Iceland national team are starting to earn deals at European clubs.
“The likes of Sigporsson at Ajax, Sigurdsson at Tottenham and Gunnarsson at Cardiff have led the way in this campaign. “And even at the age of 35, Eidur Gudjohnsen is still having a positive influence on the team. It would be fantastic for such a talent as him to bow out in Brazil.”

 

Only found one goal, the 2nd one here and it's a beauty.

[video=youtube;e1HDlBSdfRw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1HDlBSdfRw[/video]

 

Tina will like him:

[video=youtube;kkrF_HeRY44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkrF_HeRY44[/video]

 

We could have a real good one in this ice man, the real benefit will no doubt be in the
winter months . We will soon have the biggest team in Europe .

 

I wouldn't care how fat or lazy our striker is , as long as he scores 30 goals a season .

 

Just like Kris Boyd.

 

Anyone ever been to Iceland? their £1 pizzas are brill

 

Our manager on goals on sunday this morning , quite interesting what he's saying, hopeful of Ledley staying

 

I would thing most of us want Ledley , Sammi and Commons to stay. Even if Commons
divides his time between Dubai and Scotland .
The difficult thing for Celtic is accommodating players who are not first team players
and keeping happy players who are not automatic first team picks