When Ryan Sessegnon arrived at Hoffenheim, he was greeted by a familiar face. “Howie,” as he calls Havard Nordtveit, “he was there at the club with me in the same team in my Fulham days, so I knew him already. He was great for me back then as well as here.”
Having spent much of his career in the Bundesliga, Nordtveit has helped him to learn some German. Already a French speaker on account of his Ivorian heritage, Sessegnon will leave the Bundesliga as an even more versatile communicator. Along with improved language skills, his time in Germany has left him with a handful of new friends including a fellow wonderkid. “If I had to pick out [someone] that I get on best with, it would be Chris Richards,” he says of the American defender. “Since he came from Bayern [Munich] we have really clicked and got on well.
“Diadie [Samassekou], Ishak [Belfodil] and I speak French to each other, Baumi [Christoph Baumgartner] and I get on well as well… everyone has been fantastic and has made me feel very welcome.”
Most importantly, Sessegnon will leave the Bundesliga a better footballer. After making only 12 appearances in all competitions in his debut season at Tottenham, he opted to join Hoffenheim on loan in October with the express ambition of getting more game time. Despite a nagging thigh injury which disrupted his momentum in January and February, he has been a regular fixture at left-back and left wing-back. While it hasn’t been a straightforward season for Hoffenheim – they are currently 11th in the table, having gone on a run of one win in 10 at one stage – Sessegnon has been quietly impressive.
When Sessegnon was unveiled at Hoffenheim, he said he was drawn to the club because it had a reputation for “educating and developing young players”. Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson spent a productive season in Baden-Wurttemberg a couple of years back, while a growing number of young English players have earned their stripes in Germany: Jonjoe Kenny at Schalke, Nat Phillips at VfB Stuttgart, Ademola Lookman at RB Leipzig and, most famously, Borussia Dortmund stars Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
Asked what he’s learned during his time in the Bundesliga, Sessegnon stresses the attention to detail that Hoffenheim’s coaching staff have shown while evaluating his game. “I’ve learned a lot about myself here in my time in Germany as a person and as a player as well,” he says. “I’ve adapted to the new coach [former Bayern II boss Sebastian Hoeness], the new environment, the language [and] the German culture in terms of training, recovery and analysing, which is a bit different to England. I’ve adapted well and I’ve learned a lot about my game offensively and especially defensively, in terms of positioning and being more aggressive.”
Hoffenheim’s coaches have also asked him to be “a little bit more calm on the ball” and it shows, with Sessegnon looking much more confident in recent months than he did last year at Spurs. Sessegnon has spoken openly about his ambition to return and fight for a place in the team next season, though he will no longer have to win round Jose Mourinho. “That’s my aim from when I get back into pre-season, just to get my head down and work hard and we’ll see if I can get an opportunity to play for Spurs,” he says. “This experience over here in Germany will have helped me a lot.”
This season hasn’t been easy, despite Sessegnon’s steady progress on the pitch. In November, he shared examples of “disgusting” racial abuse sent to him via Instagram. Spurs and Hoffenheim both gave him their full support, with his parent club tweeting: “Everyone at the club is with you @RyanSessegnon”. After Munas Dabbur scored against Slovan Liberec in the Europa League a few days later, his Hoffenheim teammates raised their closed fists in a show of solidarity.
My guys
— Ryan Sessegnon (@RyanSessegnon) November 5, 2020????
Among the other up-and-coming players he’s faced in the Bundesliga this season, Sessegnon has been particularly impressed by Bellingham. “He’s doing very well at Dortmund. He’s a very exciting young player, very talented, fearless, technically and tactically very strong for his age.”
As well as his hopes of making a comeback at Spurs next term, Sessegnon has his fingers crossed for the club where he made his breakthrough as a teenager. “Fulham is a club very close to my heart so of course I’ve been following their season, which obviously hasn’t been a very easy one,” he says. “I’ve been impressed by the efforts and the performances made by Scottie [Scott Parker] and the boys. They’ve had a few good results against the top teams.
“Scott has got them playing very good football and has made them more resilient in the last few months. They will fight till the end, for sure. I wish them all the best and I really do hope they stay up this season.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sZiZwk
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