Mathias Grundetjern

Mathias Grundetjern's rise to Eliteserien football took the long way round. He started out in the youth ranks of Fløy in his native Kristiansand, winning the Sør Cup with the club's G19 side in 2017, and stayed on to play senior football with the club in the lower divisions before a move to IK Start in February 2022.

It was at Start that Grundetjern established himself. Playing in the 1. divisjon, he helped the club win promotion to the Eliteserien, and by 2023 he had made himself the team's spearhead, sharing the top scorer award that season with Alagie Sanyang on eight goals. He signed a contract extension in 2024, underlining the value Start placed on him, before a switch to Vålerenga arrived in July 2025 on a deal running to the end of 2028.

The position he plays has shifted along with the move. Whatever the label, the end product has followed him: having scored 27 goals in 88 appearances for Start, he has continued to find the net at his new club, with eight goals from 28 appearances in Oslo colours.

He has not featured for Norway at any level, so his career so far has been built entirely in the domestic league.