Alvbåge commits to Örebro

Highly-rated keeper
The highly-rated 20-year-old Swede was also being courted by IFK Göteborg and AIK but Örebro have finally secured his signature after a week of uncertainty. Alvbåge initially hesitated to commit and Örebro had been close to making a move for Canadian U-21 keeper Pieter Meuleman, but the club are delighted that their first choice has now put pen to paper.

'It feels great'
"John has been our first choice all along, so when he accepted it felt unnecessary to take a look at Mauleman," said coach Stefan Lundin. "John said that he hesitated over the contract because of certain personal reasons and we accepted that. It feels great to have him here."

Karlsson in coaching role
Örebro's previous shot-stopper Anders Karlsson retired at the end of last season but has stayed on as a goalkeeping coach so Alvbåge will compete with Peter Wessman for the No1 jersey under his watchful eye. "It's great," Lundin said. "John is very talented and he’s still only 20 so with him and Peter competing and Anders [Karlsson] as a goalkeeping coach, we've got a good mixture."

Delight with move
Alvbåge also expressed his own delight with the move. "I had to think a lot before making the decision," he said on Västra Frölunda's official website. "I've really had a great time here but I want to play in the top flight."