IF Martin Samuelsen makes his debut for Blackburn Rovers tomorrow he will become the ninth Norwegian to pull on the famous blue and white halves.

And when the names of Henning Berg and Morten Gamst Pedersen are read out to him after completing his season-long loan from West Ham United the softly-spoken Samuelsen laughs.

“I feel the pressure already!” said the 19-year-old, who used to watch fellow winger Pedersen for Rovers growing up in Norway.

“Hopefully I’ll do as well as they have done.”

You would not bet against it.

Behind his baby-faced looks lies a young man with a steely determination to make it to top.

Samuelsen was coveted by most of Europe biggest clubs before moving from his homeland to sign for Manchester City at the age of 14.

He spent three years with City, playing under Rovers’ Premiership title winner Jason Wilcox, who was then the club’s under-18 coach, before he joined West Ham last summer.

Samuelsen made two appearances for the Hammers in the Europa League before being farmed out to Peterborough United where he thrived in League One.

“It’s a special type of football (in League One),” said the skilful midfielder, who has been named in the Norway squad for their friendly with Belarus and 2018 World Cup qualifier with Germany next week after winning his first international cap in June.

“The quality of the pitches varies a lot from team to team so you have to change the way you play.

“Some pitches you can’t play on the grass so you’ve got to kick it long and get the second balls but Peterborough’s ground was quite good so we played some good football, scored a lot of goals, and all in all it was a good experience.

“I learned a lot from it, playing for points, high stakes, I really enjoyed it.”

And Posh fans enjoyed Samuelsen.

He was named man-of-the-match in their live FA Cup replay with West Brom, winning the praise of studio pundit and Rovers legend Alan Shearer, and he scored a breathtaking individual effort in Peterborough’s 3-2 win at Sheffield United.

“I remember coming on and we were leading 2-1, and they scored a goal to make it 2-2, so I thought, ‘I can’t come on and we draw the game, we have to win this’,” said the 6ft 2in Samuelsen of his Bramall Lane solo strike.

“So I got the ball and did it myself, went past a few players and good finish. It was one of the best moments of my football career.

“I’m right footed who can play on the left but I can also cross with my left foot. Sometimes I come in and combine with the strikers and get a goal myself. You’ll see this season.”

Samuelsen’s performances for Posh ensured he was not short of suitors after West Ham agreed to send him back out on loan.

So why Rovers?

“It was mainly the talks with the manager here, Owen Coyle, they convinced me of coming,” said Samuelsen, who scored for the Hammers’ development side in a 4-3 loss at Ewood Park last September.

“The way we play here, the stadium, the facilities, everything really. It felt like a good club. I had a good feeling about it.

“I hope to play move up a level now. I did it at League One level last season and now I’ve got to show people I can do it consistently in the Championship and then maybe next year in the Premier League.”

*Lars Bohinen, Tore Pedersen, Egil Ostenstad, Stig Inge Bjornebye, Martin Andresen and Josh King are the other Norwegians to play for Rovers.