The Iceland Under 21 international makes the move from Starjan is his home country and Thelin admits he’ll need time to adapt
Aberdeen have beaten off stiff competition to land rising Iceland star Kjartan Mar Kjartansson.
Dons boss Jimmy Thelin has confirmed that the club have agreed a fee to sign the midfielder on a four year contract from Starjan.
The 18-year-old, who is an Icelandic under-21 international, will become the fifth summer signing for the Scottish Cup winners, subject to international clearance and visa requirements.
Thelin stated: “Kjartan is a player who our scouting department have been aware of and tracking for some time. We are pleased to have signed him given the significant interest from some big clubs.
“For a player still so young, he has played an impressive volume of minutes for the first team and the Icelandic youth international squads.
“He has a very good defensive and positional mind for the game. He has performed well for Stjarnan when winning possession back for his team, making key interceptions and protecting the team in transition – all the qualities we look for at the base of our midfield and it’ s impressive when you consider his age.
“He is a very exciting talent, but we also know we need to work with him to develop further, and he will take time to adapt to a new club, a new league and a new country. We must be patient; we must nurture him and at times we must protect him to ensure we are able to realise his significant potential.”
Kjartsson has played more than 50 first-team games and made his debut when he was 16 and is ready to kick on at Pittodrie after making the move to the Scottish Premiership.
He said: “It’s an amazing feeling to sign for such a big club and I just can’t wait to get started.
“I got a warm welcome from the guys, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“ Aberdeen is a big club in Iceland, we know the history with the European cups, so it was an easy decision to come here.
“It’s a good move for this stage in my career and I think the Scottish game will suit my style of play.
“I’ve heard the fans are very passionate, I saw the footage of them after the Scottish Cup win, so I am excited to play in front of them.
“It gives me the drive to reach that goal and achieve big things with the club.”
Aberdeen are currently in their pre-season camp in Spain. They have already signed Nick Suman, Nicolas Milanovic, Kusini Yengi and Emmanuel Gyamfi.