As a 22 year-old enrollee in Norway’s Police Academy in Oslo, Jo Tessem had dabbled in part-time football in the country’s lower divisions. But when he went to train with Lyn Oslo, it was more with an eye to improving his fitness than to becoming a professional footballer. He was soon offered a contract, however, and was among the goals as Lyn gained promotion to the top flight in 1996. Even when he transferred to Molde – perpetual runners-up, in the Norwegian championship, to Rosenborg – Jo continued to work part-time as a police officer. But now, at 27, he was ripe for full-time football in England.

Primarily an attack-minded midfielder, he also served Southampton as a defender – he made his debut at right-back,

in place of the injured Jason Dodd having only signed for £600,000, 24 hours previously – and could be pushed forward when another attacking option was needed. That versatility is reflected in the number of times he came off the bench. But a player who gives one manager options may give the next manager a quandary as to how best to use him, if at all, and Jo feels that he suffered from the club’s managerial turnover, especially with Gordon Strachan whose pragmatic coaching style he had problems with. Even so, he won nine caps for Norway while at Southampton, the first of them on his 29th birthday v Northern Ireland.

Despite those international call-ups and his joint top-scoring contribution to the 2003 FA Cup-run, Jo made only one Premiership start in 2003-04 and did not feature at all in 2004-05. He had been loaned out a few times, including twice to Lyn, to whom he now returned permanently – well, until he returned to England, that is, for the sake of his English-born partner.

He played a dozen times for Kevin Bond’s Bournemouth, in a stirring run of wins that failed to spare them relegation. He was ready to move to Sweden, the following season, but needed to demonstrate that he had recovered from a hamstring-injury. Southampton’s manager, Mark Wotte, offered him the opportunity to train with the club for a fortnight. This was misinterpreted as being a “trial”, but there was never any prospect of the 38 year-old Tessem, however fit he might prove to be, joining Wotte’s young relegation-bound team. And nor did Jo move to Sweden.

He did return to Lyn, by now in Norway’s sixth tier, following bankruptcy, to play one game, interrupting an association with Totton that has included two spells with Totton & Eling and latterly a coaching position at Totton College. He was still playing in 2019-20, aged 49, for Wessex League side Hythe & Dibden in the 9^th tier of English football.