West Brom Opens Up On Decision To Sign 25-Year-Old Defender

West Brom swooped to sign Torbjørn Heggem over the summer to bolster their defensive department.

West Brom landed the defender from IF Brommapojkarna in Sweden and they handed him a three-year deal running until June 2027.

Heggem, 25, has since made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Championship side and has chipped in with a single assist so far.

The Norway international, who has one cap under his belt so far in his career, has adapted well to life in England and is turning out to be an inspired addition for the Baggies.

He arrived in the Midlands in the last transfer window as a bit of an unknown quantity but is quickly becoming a popular figure at The Hawthorns.

Heggem’s usual position is at left-back but he has proved his versatility by slotting in at centre-back recently for Carlos Corberan’s side due to their injury issues at the back.

West Brom signing has worked out

Heggem’s form has been noticed by Norway and they have called him up for their upcoming games against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.

The Baggies will be hoping he returns after the international break injury free.

As per WhoScored, Heggem has averaged 7.05 per game for West Brom in this campaign, with only Alex Mowatt performing better. He has made the most successful tackles out of all of his teammates.

He started his senior career at Rosenberg after joining them from Astor and rose up through the academy of the Eliteserien outfit.

The full-back represented their various different youth levels but only played once for their first-team.

The Trondheim-born man was loaned out twice to Ranheim to get some experience before leaving on a permanent basis in 2021.

Spells at Sandnes Ulf and IF Brommapojkarna followed on for him before West Brom came calling. The latter were relegated from the Allsvenskan last term and he subsequently departed.

After joining the Baggies, he told their website: “English football has always been the biggest thing in Norway. To play in England is a dream for every boy growing up there and hopefully I will achieve that now I have signed. I’m really looking forward to that.

“It’s all happened pretty quickly, and I’m really happy about that. I haven’t thought too much about it, I just felt it was the right thing to do from the very start. I feel like the head coach is very ambitious. He was telling me about his training ideas and the way he wants to coach. He really wants to get the best out of every player, and I think that will suit me well.”

It sometimes takes a while for players from abroad to get used to life in a new country. However, Heggem doesn’t appear to have found the transition too difficult.

What now?

Heggem has turned into a great signing for West Brom and will want to sustain his level of performance.

The Baggies face Burnley at home on Thursday before heading to Hull City on Sunday.