The trust duo of Lukko is leaving – new address revealed

Locked in for the past years, Ponthus Westerholm and Pathrik Westerholm will continue their careers in Norway’s top league with Vålerenga.

The 34-year-old Swedish twins have been linked to the Norwegian club all summer, and now the transfer has received official confirmation. The brothers have played nearly their entire long professional careers in the same team and often in the same line.

The Westerholm twins have a combined total of nearly 1000 games in Sweden’s SHL and Finland’s top league. For the last three seasons, they represented Lukko, which finished fifth in the league’s regular season last year.

Vålerenga snatched the experienced duo

Vålerenga’s sports director Morten Ask says he has been following the twins’ careers for a long time and wanted to seize the opportunity when the experienced forwards became available.

– We have been following Ponthus and Pathrik for a long time. When players with such experience become available, we have to be active. They have won the Swedish championship and the CHL together and have played at a high level in Sweden and Finland for over ten years, Ask says in a statement.

According to Vålerenga, the twins’ mutual synergy can be a significant strength for the team.

– We are getting two players who know each other and each other’s game better than anyone else. I believe that will benefit us in tight matches. At the same time, we get Pathrik as a playmaking center and Ponthus with a physical and goal-scoring playing style on the wing, Ask explains.

The decision was influenced by feedback from a former teammate

Vålerenga’s contact came to the twins at the beginning of the summer holidays. The decision was also influenced by positive feedback from former teammate Henrik Larsson about the club and Oslo.

Larsson played with the Westerholm brothers at BIK Karlskoga, and he is currently part of the Vålerenga team.

– When Morten reached out and showed interest, it sounded good. We have known Henrik since Karlskoga, and he has said a lot of positive things about the club and Oslo. After that, we made the decision, and now we are happy to be here, Ponthus Westerholm says.

The Westerholm brothers arrived in Oslo over the weekend and immediately participated in their new team’s practice on Monday.

– We got a good first impression. The arena is great, and the practices have gone well. The training is tough, so we are a bit tired, but that’s a positive thing. We like hard training, so this suits us well, Pathrik Westerholm shares.