Norway coach warns Šildrup: he must decide between staying at Benfica or leaving

Ståle Solbakken, the head coach of the Norway national team, has confirmed that Andreas Schjelderup will need to make a decision regarding his future with Benfica next year, as his contract with the Portuguese club runs until June 2028.

Solbakken said, ahead of the match between Norway and Portugal in the Nations League: "He now has to return to Benfica and try to regain his starting position. His contract ends in 18 months, and it will be very important for him to perform well and make the right decisions in the coming year. He has to decide whether he wants to stay at Benfica or move to another league."

Norway's coach praised the significant development of Shieldrop, highlighting a turning point last season when the player was struggling for game time. He added: "I spoke to him deeply last season and advised him to leave because he hadn't been playing for a long time. But suddenly he scored and assisted a goal against Real Madrid, and everything changed. He became the biggest star in Portugal, that's how I felt."

Despite the impressive development of the 22-year-old player, Solbakken emphasized that he has more work to do, stating: "He needs to continue working, and he can improve in some areas. He can become more consistent, score more goals, provide more assists, and be better defensively. He has improved a lot over the past year and has delivered good performances with the national team."

Solbakken has highlighted that Shieldrop has gone from being one of the last options to a key player in his plans with the Norwegian national team, before concluding: "You can trust him. He has a great future, but I don't know if he will stay or leave Benfica."