A former Aberdeen and SK Brann midfielder says Sivert Heltne Nilsen is “rock-solid” and “always gives 100%” – but it is clear Nilsen has had a fractious relationship with fans in Bergen.
Brann captain Nilsen flew into Aberdeen from Norway on Wednesday and, following the completion of a medical and final agreement on personal terms, became his former Elfsborg boss Jimmy Thelin’s fourth summer signing since taking over the managerial reins at Pittodrie.
Despite being 33 in October, Nilsen has signed a three-year contract with the Reds, and is intended to finally plug the hole left by Albania international Ylber Ramadani when he departed for Italian outfit Lecce in August 2023.
Sources in Norway suggest Aberdeen agreed to pay SK Brann approximately £300,000 for Nilsen – who still had a year-and-a-half left on his Brann deal.
He could make his Dons debut as early as Saturday’s competitive season-opener at Queen of the South in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.
Nilsen is ‘a rock-solid midfielder, who always gives 100%’ – ex-Don Guntveit
Former Aberdeen midfielder Cato Guntveit joined the Dons from Brann in 1999, before returning to Bergen three years later, going on to captain Brann and win both the Norwegian Cup and Norwegian top-flight title with the club.
Speaking to The Press and Journal about Nilsen – who has himself had two spells with Brann and led them to the Norwegian Cup last year – Guntveit said: “Sivert Heltne Nilsen is a guy you want in your team in training.
“He’s a rock-solid sitting midfielder, who always gives 100%.
“Nilsen is also strong in the air for his height.
“The last couple of years, his offensive abilities have impressed me – he has a cool head with the ball outside both boxes.”
Journalist: Nilsen is heartbeat of Brann team – but legacy tarnished by Aberdeen switch in search of long-term contract
Gabriel Retallack covers SK Brann for Bergen’s biggest newspaper, Bergens Tidende.
He describes Nilsen’s key attributes as his six-foot frame and “ball-winning ability”.
Though “he’s not really going to give you lots of progressive passing through the lines and forwards”, the sports writer says the middle-man “reads the game well” and “makes good decisions”.
Despite Nilsen’s age, Retallack says the midfielder is “still very much playing the best football of his career at the moment” within Brann’s “4-3-3 with a very intensive press”.
This last part will chime with Aberdeen fans given new manager Thelin’s reputation for ferocious counter-pressing at Swedish side Elfsborg – where Nilsen played between 2019 and 2020, captaining them to an Allsvenskan runners-up finish in 2020.
Bergen journalist Retallack describes a turbulent relationship between skipper Nilsen and the Brann fans.
Nilsen initially played for hometown club Brann between 2015 and 2018 (under his father Lars Arne Nilsen), before leaving for Danish side AC Horsens. He returned to Bergen after a short stint at Beveren in Belgium, where he moved after Elfsborg, in 2021.
Retallack says the friction between Nilsen and Brann supporters initially stemmed from the manner of his first exit to Horsens.
It intensified following speculation over him reuniting with Thelin at Elfsborg last summer.
His shock exit for Aberdeen ahead of Conference League qualifying games against Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles later this month may have now “tarnished his legacy” at Brann.
“He’s kind of the heartbeat of the Brann team at the moment. He’s the leader for them on the pitch,” Retallack said, before Nilsen’s switch to the Dons was officially confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
“But there’s definitely a love-hate relationship with the fans.
“In 2018, during his first spell, Brann were top of the league and looked like they were going to win a first league title in more than 10 years.
“He forced through a transfer to Denmark halfway through the season, and Brann ended up finishing third afterwards.
“He came back and got them promoted to the Eliteserien in 2022, won the cup (in 2023), and then just after – which is last summer – he started muttering about how he didn’t feel like Brann were ambitious enough.
“This mostly stemmed from them not wanting to give him a long-term contract – he wanted his future secured for several years and I don’t think they wanted to give him more than a year’s extension.
“He obviously worked with Jimmy at Elfsborg, and while he was kicking up a fuss last season he had an offer from Elfsborg and Jimmy to come back, which he used to leverage for his new contract at Brann.
“They ended up tying him down again and he signed a new contract in January which was valid until the end of 2025.
“This move to Aberdeen came quite unexpectedly on people.
“The Brann fans we’ve spoken to are done with him at this point and I think he’s tarnished his legacy a bit.”
Retallack thinks Aberdeen’s willingness to offer Nilsen a long contract, despite his advancing years, will have been pivotal in his decision to join the Dons, as well as his relationship with boss Thelin.
He said: “Jimmy is obviously a big fan of him.
“I think the long-contract will have been very important in his negotiations with Aberdeen – as, from speaking to him, Nilsen wants to play into his late-30s. He hasn’t been getting that from Brann.”
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