Montpellier sign Erlend Mamelund

Norway, Germany, Denmark, Norway – and from next season on, France. This is the journey Erlend Mamelund has made in his career.

After playing for VELUX EHF Champions League clubs SG Flensburg-Handewitt, FC Kobenhavn and Haslum HK he will return to the major European club competition as, from next season, the left-back will join MAHB Montpellier on a two-year contract which runs until 2014.

A current Norwegian international with 90 matches, Mamelund currently plays for Norwegian champions Haslum HK.

"Montpellier is one of the biggest clubs in Europe with excellent results and excellent players," he said. "I really want to play with them, I want to learn with them and I want to grow with this club. I spoke with other players in our national team and they heard only good things about coach Patrice Canayer and the club. We are used to hard work in Norway, so I am ready for the challenge," added Mamelund.

Coach Canayer explains the strategy behind the Mamelund transfer: "I think many players want to play for us and we have the desire to build a great team. A great team is built with great players so we cannot fall asleep as the level of demand is constantly growing. The transfer of Mamelund underlines our intention. This is the second of our new signings for next season.

"Mamelund is very experienced but also a young player. Aged 27, he has enough experience thanks to his international matches but he is also young enough to have the freshness. Therefore he is a contribution to the team."