Arsenal loanee Charles Sagoe Jr. kept his strong run of form going with a goal for Kalmar against Halmstad on Sunday, his fifth goal contribution in three games.
Though Arsenal youth forward Charles Sagoe Jr. had made a positive start to his Allsvenskan career over the last few weeks, up until the last fortnight, his only goal or assist for Kalmar was his debut effort in the Swedish cup in March.
That changed with four assists in two games the week before last, and he followed that up with his first league goal for the club on Sunday.
The 21-year-old looked dangerous from the start of Kalmar’s weekend fixture against Halmstad, forcing a save with a long-range effort in the fourth minute. But he eventually got his goal in the 52nd minute, squeezing a volley underneath the opposition goalkeeper for 1-0.
Anthony Olusanya doubled Kalmar’s lead eight minutes later, and the match finished 2-0. Sagoe Jr.’s goal marked his first in senior league football, having not scored on loans to Shrewsbury Town and Swansea City.
Sagoe Jr. had provided his first league assists in Kalmar’s recent win over IF Elfsborg.
First, he set up Kalmar’s equalising goal for 1-1, driving a low cross into the box with his left foot for Charlie Rosenqvist to finish. He then repeated the trick with a dinked left-footed cross for Olusanya to score the winner.
Sagoe Jr. then did the same again against IK Sirius later that week, providing another two assists for Kalmar.
The winger first played a curling right-footed cross into the box for Rosenqvist to head home for 1-0, then played a short pass lay-off to Rony Jansson for a first-time finish for 2-0.
Unfortunately, Sirius rallied to score three second-half goals and win the match, but Sagoe Jr. couldn’t be faulted for that. He wasn’t even on the pitch by the time the hosts scored their winning goal.
Sagoe Jr.’s six goal contributions from his first nine games with Kalmar are encouraging, as his game continues to mature in senior football.
Perhaps more importantly, he’s started all nine of those matches in a row, quickly racking up the minutes he needs.
Previous loans to Swansea and Shrewsbury only earned Sagoe Jr. 877 minutes in total, whereas he’s played 750 minutes in just over two months at Kalmar, despite a four-week break from games between their elimination from the Swedish cup and the start of the league action.
With another seven months until the Swedish domestic season ends, there’s plenty of time for the loanee to far surpass his game time in the English lower leagues.
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