The price tag on Ibrahim Teteh Bangura almost certainly rose a few million notches after the Sierra Leone striker scored every goal in AIK’s 4-0 win over Halmstad July 11 at Råsunda Stadion.
Teteh, who plays up front for AIK with his unrelated namesake Mohamed Bangura, has 14 goals in 13 matches for AIK. When he arrived in Solna at the start of the season, few expected him to overshadow his better known countryman. His play in the first half, however, has been nothing short of sparkling and now, several larger European clubs are watching the 21-year-old star in the making.
Right after his performance against Halmstad, rumors ran through the Allsvenskan that FC Schalke from the German Bundeslilga was ready to meet AIK’s asking price, believed to be around 30 million kronor ($5 million). However, within days of the victory, that number was reportedly up to 38 million kronor as Schalke appeared set to engage in a bidding war with Italian side Cagliari for Bangura’s services.
The toughest part of any sale for AIK would likely be how to deal dashed hopes of its fans. With Ibrahim and Mohamed Bangura leading the way, AIK has become a legitimate championship contender. Mohamed, the more outspoken of the two Sierra Leoneans, said point-blank that he and his countryman would bring the Lennart Johansson trophy back to Solna provided both remain at AIK through November.
AIK, however, needs the money the two African stars could potentially bring in more than it needs the trophy. The Solna club continues to struggle with debt and has made it clear it would sell any player for the right price.
For his part, Ibrahim Bangura remains humble yet optimistic about his future.
“If AIK sells me, then I hope they get a really good price,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Helsingborg 3, Djurgården 0
HELSINGBORG – Alexander Gerndt had a goal and an assist to lead Helsingborg to a 3-0 win over Djurgården July 11 at Olympia Stadium. Gerndt broke open a scoreless game when he tallied in the 49th minute. Ardian Gashi made it 2-0 five minutes. Cristoffer Andersson scored the third goal six minutes from time off a pass from Gerndt. The loss was the first for DIF under new manager Magnus Pehrsson.

Elfsborg 3, Örebro 0
BORÅS – Elfsborg kept pace with Helsingborg, knocking off Örebro July 10 at Borås Arena. An own goal staked Elfsborg to a 1-0 lead after 25 minutes. Oscar Hiljemark doubled the lead in the 84th minute as ÖSK wilted under pressure. Alejandro Bedoya put Örebro a man down with two minutes left to play when he picked up a red card after committing his second bookable offense. Anders Svensson made Örebro pay when tallied one minute into stoppage time.

AIK 4, Halmstad 0
SOLNA – Ibrahim Teteh Bangura scored four times to lead AIK to a 4-0 walloping of Halmstad July 11 at Råsunda Stadium. Bangura scored twice in a two-minute early in the first half – both off passes from Mohamed Bangura – and bagged his third one minute before the interval. He scored his fourth of the match in the 57th minute.

GAIS 3, Gefle 1
GÖTEBORG – GAIS moved into fourth place in the standings with a 3-1 win over Gefle July 9 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium. Eric Magloire Bassombeng staked GAIS to a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute. Gefle went a man down in the 54th minute after Olof Mård received a red card. Mikael Dahlvist tied the game two minutes later as Gefle tried to shrug off the ejection. GAIS, however, took advantage of its depleted opponent, with Mervan Celik putting the home side back in front in the 79th minute. Razak Omotoyossi made it 3-1 three minutes from time.

IFK Göteborg 3, Syrianska 0
GÖTEBORG – Stefan Selakovic scored all three goals to lead Göteborg to a 3-0 win over Syrianska July 10 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium. Syrianska goalkeeper Dwayne Miller opened the door to the former Sweden international when he committed a flagrant foul inside the penalty area in the 70th minute. The Jamaican international got his walking papers and Selakovic easily beat substitute Christian Frealdsson on the ensuing penalty kick. Selakovic scored again in the 87th minute and completed his hat trick with a stoppage-time goal.

Häcken 2, Mjällby 1
SÖLVESBORG – Mjällby got a late goal from Peter Nyström to claim a 2-1 win over BK Häcken July 10 at Strandvallen. Mattias Ranegie put Häcken out front in the 22nd minute. Mjällby tied the game in the 67th minute thank to an own goal. Nyström scored his game-winning goal at the 85-minute mark.

Trelleborg 3, Kalmar 2
TRELLEBORG – Kalmar goalkeeper Petter Wastå received a direct red card for a flagrant foul inside the penalty area, giving Trelleborg the chance to rally for a 3-2 win July 9 at Vångavallen. Wastå got his walking papers in the 70th minute with match tied at 1-1. Kristain Haynes scored on the ensuing penalty to put TFF up by a goal. Henrik Rydström tied the match for Kalmar on a penalty but Fredrik Jensen tallied two minutes into stoppage time to give Trelleborg the win.

IFK Norrköping 0, Malmö 0
NORRKÖPING – Defending champion Malmö slipped 12 points behind league leaders Helsingborg after playing to a scoreless draw with lowly Norrköping.

By Chipp Reid