Clarets boss on ‘culture change’ for signing Ulvestad

The 22-year-old has signed a three-year deal with the Clarets after a spell training with the club, where he played in Development Squad games as a trialist.

Ulvestad left hometown club Alesunds FK at the start of the season, after scoring 14 goals in 116 Tippeligaen appearances and has one cap for his country after he replaced Fredrik Gulbrandsen at half-time in a goalless friendly against the United Arab Emirates in August.

Torgrim Bakke, a writer for the Norwegian newspaper Sunnmørsposten, outlined his strengths and weaknesses: “He had a breakthrough season in 2013 and is a very talented central midfielder.

“His play was a bit more uneven last season, but he elevated his play in the last half of 2014.

“He is a great player by Norwegian standards though I’m not sure he’s ready for the elite leagues of Europe yet.

“But he is a physically gifted player. His stamina is one of his biggest assets.

“He can cover a lot of ground, has nice skills with the ball and is at his best when he’s bringing the ball up the field at high pace.”

“He’s not a weak player, but he is a bit small compared to the Premiership-standard. So that could be a challenge.”

Ulvestad chose to move to England, rather than pursue a switch to a number of interested parties in the Bundesliga.

Boss Sean Dyche feels he will need time to adjust to his new challenge: “Fredrik is someone who came into the club to spend some time with us earlier this year.

“We liked what we saw and he has gained some good experience playing in the league in Norway.

“It’s a new challenge for him now, not only on the pitch but off it too in terms of culture.

“He has gained a full international cap and is learning and gaining experience all the time. We will be looking for him to continue his development and improve further as a midfielder.

“There will be an adjustment period, for sure, because of the change in the levels of football.

“We know how tough the Premier League is, so he will be given time to adjust to that accordingly and continue his development.”