Bell has turned down the vikings, told them he wants to continue with his schooling in the US.
https://www.aftenbladet.no/sport/i/zGV8GK/Joe-Bell-takket-nei-til-Viking
Joe Bell declined the Viking
Try the player with surprising decision: Instead, want to continue with college football in the US.
SR-Bank Arena (aftenbladet): After training with Viking since Monday last week, and made a very positive impression, the U20 National player Joe Bell (20) received a contract with Viking.
The midfielder, who was recently impressed by the last WORLD in Poland, was in the stands when Viking lost 3 – 4 towards Bodø/GLIMT on Sunday. Opposite Aftenposten, the 20-year-old has spoken very positively about the club, the coaches and the possibility of becoming a Viking player.
But after reviewing the Vikings offerings and discussing the opportunity with his family, he has still now turned his thumb down for a transition. At least in the summer.
Will continue in the US
"He chose to prioritize the next half of the year in college. He felt the right thing now was to continue in the United States in terms of the important things he has there, said Bjarne Berntsen of Aftenposten.
The Viking coach claims that Bell only has good things to say about the club and that there was no talk of financial or contractual challenges. It is only about Bells ' own decision that this was not the right time to go to Viking.
– If he considers it different if there are other leagues on the pitch, I don't know. But his gut said it wasn't right to take the risk of moving to Norway now. At the same time, he has said that he hopes to remain relevant to us again until the fall again, into the next window, says Berntsen.
Now Viking has to see
Bells ' decision is undoubtedly surprising, all the time he seemed very leveraged to get to the Viking and also stated himself very positively about the possibility of obtaining a contract with the club
Viking was also preparing for a transition and, among other things, checking up in the formalities around training and similar with Bells ' former clubs.
Now they must instead look for a different midfielder.
– We've done all the way, we haven't hung up in one player. We deal with this in a good way, says Berntsen.
Joe Bell also offers from the only fully professional club in New Zeland, Wellington Phoenix. Bell is flashed up in Wellington's academy, but was not contracted there when he turned 18. Therefore, Bell jumped on the offer he received about full scholarship at the University of Virginia in the United States. There's Bell halfway through his four-year study course.
Several other clubs have also shown interest in Bell after the U20 World championships in Poland, among other German clubs. The same applies to several of his teammates who were eliminated by Colombia in the eighth finals of the World championships. Among other things, teammate Sarpreet Singh is at Bayern München now, but he hasn't written the contract there yet.