SIGGY STARDUST – Spurs and Norway breakout star Signe Gaupset speaks…

Signe Gaupset talks to Helen M Jerome about her big step up into the WSL, having fun on the pitch, opting for Tottenham, and competing to score Spurs’ most spectacular goal…

We also get the thoughts of Gaupset’s Norway teammate Frida Maanum, along with their legendary ex-leader Maren Mjelde. 

And we hear from Martin Ho, Gaupset’s proud head coach at Tottenham and previously at SK Brann.

Fans of the beautiful game (including yours truly) had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Signe Gaupset in the WSL for some time. The teenager thrilled us in the Champions League for SK Brann in the 2023-24 season, with eye-catching performances against both of this year’s finalists, Lyon and Barcelona. And she broke through for Norway during Euro 2025, seemingly unfazed by the pressure.

Born in Molde, and moulded at Brann, Gaupset is now 20 years old, and under the spotlight after joining Spurs in January 2026. And she is already grabbing her chances under Tottenham boss Martin Ho, who was also her head coach at Brann from 2023-25 – the team she’d joined before she was 16 years old.

Speaking to Maren Mjelde in 2025, she marked our cards not long before the Euros, saying: “We have a really talented young girl, Signe Gaupset from Brann. I don’t want to put too much pressure on her, but I know that everyone will know about her in the future.”

Mjelde noted that although the teen prodigy hadn’t played much for the national team at this point, she was hopeful that Gaupset would continue her form, come into the Euros and be able to contribute. Which she definitely did.

When I asked Arsenal and Norway star Frida Maanum about the youngster last year, she said she follows the Norwegian league [Toppserien] eagerly, and watched Gaupset playing in those domestic games, as well as in the Champions League.

“She’s a young talent,” said Maanum, “not to give too much pressure, but she’s obviously a good player for Norway, and I think she can develop over time into the team. Oh yeah, she’s good.”

We were both pretty sure that Gaupset was ready-made for the English league, and Maanum (above, playing with and against Gaupset) agreed that she would probably fit into the WSL quite well. “I think you come a long way in this league if you’re physically tough.

“Then obviously when she wants to leave Norway, and for bigger clubs… that’s for her to make that decision. I definitely think she has a lot of strength and power in her game.”

Christmas Present

Fast forward nine months and Gaupset made that decision. She arrived in N17, was announced a couple of weeks before Christmas, and officially joined in the January 2026 transfer window, after the Norwegian league concluded.

And she now plays alongside Maanum – plus superstars like Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg (who Gaupset had idolised as a kid, below) and Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen – for Norway.

Martin Ho cannot hide his delight when I first ask him about Gaupset joining Spurs, at the beginning of December. He explains exactly why Tottenham’s fans should be excited about her.

“Signe’s a wonderful talent, a wonderful addition to this team. Someone I’ve obviously worked with previously. And I feel she’ll bring a lot of excitement.

“She’ll bring a lot more depth to this team. She gives us a profile that we don’t have within the squad. And I want to make sure that every player we have here is different in profile, different in quality.

“Yeah, she’s someone definitely we should be excited about because she’s one of the biggest talents within Europe.”

Ho agrees with Frida Maanum, that Gaupset felt ready-made – and ready – for the WSL. “Yeah, I think maybe it’s the right step for her now that she’s had the five years in Norway and three or four of them in Brann (below).

“She’s done as much as she could, and I think what was important for Signe is that when you’re in that league, you want to make sure that you can outgrow the team, you outgrow the league and your performances and data allows you to do that. And I think in the 2025 season, she’s definitely done that.”

Ho also notes how effective she was in the previous season for Brann, notably in the Champions League against both Lyon and Barcelona. “And she’s gone out on a high, winning player of the year at the club. She’s won the league. I think she knew that it’s the right step for her.”

What might surprise everyone, is that Ho didn’t have to persuade Gaupset to join Spurs. Far from it, he says, it was she who chose Spurs. “You might not believe me,” he adds, “but she made that decision.”

Obviously it helps that Gaupset and Ho were accustomed to each other, having worked together at Brann, but crucially she bought into the project at Spurs. “She believed in the staffing and the team around her,” says Ho, who is adamant that there was no pushing from him. It was simply: this is what we can do, and this is where we can take you.

“I think what shows her maturity is that she made the decision based on football and what was right for her career, not just based on me as a coach.”

All Over The Park

Perhaps the first quandary for Martin Ho wasn’t a bad one: where to play Gaupset. With Norway, she’s been deployed all over the park in slightly different positions, including off the left, adapting and excelling in all of them.

Initially, the Spurs boss sees her playing inside, as a 10. But he expands on his plans: “Probably long term – I said this to her before I was working here – she could probably be one of the best box-to-box midfielders I believe in world football.

“She has the capacity, the power and the engine to do that. She definitely has the technical ability, but she also is very adaptable and fluid and she can play outside the pitch too.

“Having that flexibility enables us to be more unpredictable, but also enables her game to be a lot more dynamic.”

Ho leans into his appreciation of Gaupset’s extensive skillset: “I know what she’s capable of, a player with very good intuition and creativity, very powerful and dominant in 1v1 and around the boxes, who is very dangerous with the ball, in terms of end product, and in terms of finishing.”

Deadly Duo

Of course, the previous January transfer window saw another exciting player, Denmark midfielder Olivia Holdt join Spurs. And I had to ask Martin Ho about the potential link-up between his young Danish and Norwegian internationals in the WSL and beyond.

He praises Holdt (above, left) for taking big steps and turning the corner in her own performances, both defensively and offensively. Ho also knows that you have to give the Dane a little bit of freedom, working within a framework, but giving her the opportunity ‘to be herself’.

“Then she will do things that maybe even I don’t know she’s going to do at times, so the opposition definitely don’t know!

“As a player she’s very intelligent. She thrives on pressure, thrives on wanting the ball and being the person who’s going to make a difference.

“Her technical ability is second to none. What she can do with the ball in a lot of moments is breathtaking, you just stand and applaud.”

Ho knows he now has two rather remarkable and very technical players driving Spurs forward. “They will build a relationship when they’re on the pitch together and I think both players will enjoy playing with one another because of the way they see the game and how they want to play.

“Hopefully they can build a platform around themselves where they can connect well on the pitch. They can support each other in individual development, but also in team and collective success.”

Dynamic Debut

Not that Martin Ho gets carried away when his new star signing instantly makes her mark in her first game for Spurs, winning the first of her Player of the Match awards – having already collected them for Norway too…

“Nothing surprised me about Signe’s debut,” he says, “because I know what she’s capable of.

“She’s just come off the back of a season in Norway and had a bit of an off-season, so she’s not fully sharp and is not at full fitness yet, but has performed to a good level.

“She gets Player of the Match, but I think she knows she was probably at about 30 or 40% of her maximum. You could definitely see the qualities she possesses, and there’ll be more to come.”

Ho reckons that Gaupset won’t take long to hit her stride though: “She’s a very intelligent person and very mature and she’ll build those relationships quite quick. But also we need to give her the opportunity and a bit of time to find her feet within this league.”

As for her relationships with the rest of the players, Ho says she’s building them every day on the pitch and in training. “It takes time for players to understand each other personally and professionally. And to understand individual strengths and areas where they feel they can impact and complement others.”

This means linking up with yet another Norwegian youngster, Cathinka Tandberg, who has also made a splash in her debut season at Spurs. With loan signing Maika Hamano pushing down the right in front of brilliant young Lioness Ella Morris, plus Holdt weaving her magic across the midfield, you can see why Martin Ho has achieved a club record points-haul in his first season as head coach at Tottenham.

But even as he surveys the talent all around him, Martin Ho is already preparing for 2026-27 with a twinkle in his eye. “Signe and Olivia are very young, still got lots to learn, and they’ll be the first to say that. And then the players that we recruit in that [summer] window will be exciting too.

“I just want to help them achieve things domestically at the club for their own careers nationally and domestically, and we can do that, and we can win things along the way.”

On Gaupset’s progress, he says she’s still not happy with her performances. “She still wants to be better. When she’s doing well and when you’ve got that type of mindset – like Olivia and a lot of the players in the squad – when you’ve got that growth mindset, I think it can become really powerful.”

Tough But Fun

Finally, speaking to Signe Gaupset herself, after she’s run the game against London City Lionesses – including scoring the smart opening goal in Spurs 2-1 victory and winning Player of the Match once again – you sense her passion and intelligence immediately.

Pitchside, she smiles and answers my questions thoughtfully and patiently.

Having won everything for SK Brann in Norway, I want to hear what Gaupset makes of the difference in the standard of the WSL compared to the Toppserien back home.

“I think it’s a big difference from Norway and the level and competition,” she says.

“Every game is tough and it’s not like easy games you know you will win.

“So it’s really competitive and it’s been really fun so far.

After watching her control the match throughout, linking up with not just Olivia Holdt, but also Tandberg, Hamano, Matilda Vinberg, Julie Blakstad, and midfield lynchpin Drew Spence, I also wanted to hear Gaupset’s own verdict on her performance.

“Yeah, I got to be on the ball a lot, and that’s when I play my best, when I am involved in the game.

“I think we played really well today and then it’s easier for me to also play well. So it was fun.”

Good Times

Having already spoken to her head coach about Spurs’ young squad and their potential, I’m keen to hear if she agrees that good times are just around the corner. And she does.

“I think we can be really good next season, and I feel like since I came in January we have been developing so much.

“With the players and the staff we have, we will just keep developing and be even better and hopefully we can improve a lot more next season as well.”

You can sense Gaupset chomping at the bit to get back out on the pitch with the ball again when the WSL season kicks off in September.

She smiles: “We have so much quality in this team. So we just want to get it out and show it to the people. Because I think we have an amazing team and many young players that can go far.

“So I think if we keep training together and we have a good pre-season, then next season will be really good.”

Be prepared for fun times too, if you either follow Spurs or just like to watch entertaining football in full flow. For it looks certain that Gaupset and Olivia Holdt and their teammates will gel further, and combine to serve up some treats, while embracing the experience themselves.

“Yeah,” she says. “I think it’s really fun the way we play. And that’s also the reason I wanted to join Spurs, because of the playing style… and we have so many quality players on the pitch.

“It’s like every time someone gets the ball something will happen, and we know we create a lot of chances, so yeah it’s really fun to play with all those good players.”

Anyone who witnessed the goals Spurs scored against Aston Villa or London City will be relishing further goal-of-the-month contests within the club. I ask if Signe Gaupset and Olivia Holdt might already be challenging each other to see who can score the most spectacular goal.

“No, we haven’t yet,” laughs Gaupset, “but next season we will for sure compete!”

Photos: Helen M Jerome, Instagram