Wesstroem's AIK already setting sights on 2019/20 Champions League

The group stage of this year's Champions League may have just ended, but recently-crowned Nordic domestic champions such as Sweden's AIK, Finland's HJK Helsinki and Norway's Rosenborg are already planning furiously for next year's competition.

Because of the harsh winters, all three countries' seasons end in autumn, which gives sporting directors such as AIK's Bjorn Wesstroem time to build a squad capable of qualifying.

"It's very important for the club over time to be successful in Europe, because that's how we can build the club on our own," Wesstroem told Reuters at AIK's offices, near the Friends Arena where they play their home games.

Success would mean being "able to grow the club in a way that would not be possible without that success", he said. "An extraordinary investment is justified for an extraordinary profit."

AIK will enter the competition at the first qualifying round hoping to emulate the success of bitter rivals Malmo FF, who have twice reached the group stages in recent years - as well as the final of the predecessor European Cup in 1979.

Wesstroem's challenge is to blend experienced yet affordable international players such as Sebastian Larsson, recently returned from 17 years in England, with younger talents like his midfield colleague Kristoffer Olsson.

However, league success has also attracted suitors for the likes of Olsson, an international now coveted by several of Europe's bigger clubs.

Wesstroem expects Olsson to command a hefty fee if he is sold, but would need a replacement capable of helping AIK to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 1999.

"We have our own scouting network, but then there are always players who become available around the world that have qualities, and that sometimes trumps our own plans," he said.

To make sure that fans identify with the team on the pitch, AIK aim to draw a third of the squad from the Stockholm region, a third from the rest of Sweden and the remainder from abroad.

"Our desire, our wish is to win the title every year and make the group stage every year and sell players for a lot of money. But if you can't do all three during a season, then you want to do at least one of them," Wesstroem said. 

(With inputs from agencies.)