Shkodran Mustafi knows all about the challenges facing players in adapting to life in the Premier League - and that makes Lucas Torreira's start all the more impressive to him.
The Uruguay midfielder has quickly become a fan favourite after a string of tigerish performances in midfield and Mustafi is just as enthused as anyone.
This is what the World Cup winner told the media at London Colney on Wednesday:
on Torreira’s start…
I’m very happy for him. He played at one of my ex clubs, Sampdoria, so when he came here, it’s of course not easy, because it’s a different type of football in England. You have to give credit to him because he’s someone who works hard, who wants to work hard and who shows that on the pitch as well. Against Liverpool he recovered a lot of balls, and that makes it not only easier for the defenders, but for the whole team. As long as you have the ball, you have more opportunities to score. I think you have to give him credit. I’ve changed a lot of leagues, a lot of countries myself and I know it’s not easy to settle in. I think he’s done it brilliantly well.
on his partnership with Holding…
It’s always important when you play in central defence that you know what your partner next to you know is doing. In football you have always to adapt. You won’t always play with the same players so for me it’s important to have someone next to me who I can play with. That’s the case with Rob, with Sokra, with Lolo and with Mavro too. I have a good relationship with everyone really, it doesn’t matter if we play together or not. In training when we do play together, I’ve felt quite comfortable with whomever I’ve played with. With Rob, we’ve had good results in the last few games, which I’m very happy with as well.
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