The rumor had started to circulate yesterday already, but has now been relaunched by such reliable transfer market sources as Gianluca Di Marzio and Fabrizio Romano: Milan are reportedly interested in signing Bodo/Glimt winger Jans Petter Hauge after the young Norwegian gave more than a scare to the Rossoneri during Thursday night’s Europa League qualifier.
Hauge, 20, scored one goal and provided one assist as he helped his side make a more than respectable showing at the San Siro last night. It took Hakan Calhanoglu’s stratospheric state of form for Milan to pull off a hard-fought 3-2 win despite Hauge’s heroics.
Still, the young Norwegian seems to have impressed so much his opponents that they have reportedly already initiated talks with Bodo/Glimt to bring him to Milanello. A bid is expected to be made in the coming days.
Hauge is no new to attracting the attention of some European top clubs, including Manchester United – who have had him on their radar since August already.
However, there was no report about Milan being linked to the 20-year-old before last night, so their sudden interest may very well be attributed to what we will call the “Kutuzov Syndrome.” That peculiar situation in which playing the right match, at the right time, against the right team, can really change your career.
Vitaly Kutuzov is a Belarusian striker who, in September 2001, was enjoying a respectable stint in the local league wearing the jersey of BATE Borisov. When BATE happened to face Milan in the First Round of the UEFA Cup, the Rossoneri made short work of the Belarusian side on a 6-0 aggregate score.
However, for some reason, the 21-year-old Kutuzov grabbed the attention of the Milan management, who decided to sign him straight away despite already having Andriy Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi, and – if that wasn’t enough – even José Mari and Javi Moreno in the roster. Not to mention veteran forward Marco Simone.
As expectable, Kutuzov saw the pitch only twice in his only season at the San Siro, but his Milan experience would still open him the doors to an honorable career across the Italian Peninsula – during which he defended the colors of Avellino, Sampdoria, Parma, Pisa, and Bari.
After retiring from football, he would eventually turn from a striker into a goalkeeper and come back to play for the Rossoneri – but those were the Diavoli Rossoneri, an ice-hockey club (!) based in the Milan outskirts. But this is another story.
So, the name of Kutuzov became part of the Milan fans’ collective memory as one of those bizarre transfer market operations the club used to do back in their glory calciomercato days. So much power and influence the Rossoneri had, that they could afford signing an unknown striker – that they already knew would have never played for them – from a team they had just hammered in a UEFA Cup early-stage game.
At least, Jans Petter Hauge did score against Milan and risked putting the Rossoneri in some serious trouble. If one holds to the Kutuzov Syndrome, his performance from last night might have won him at least a decent career in Serie A mid-table clubs. But, at 21 and with the eyes of many European powerhouses on him, he must be surely hoping for something more than that.