mjc23
Terry Fenwick
The path to the Bundesliga has been a well-trodden one for English talent in recent years and a move to Germany is something Ryan Sessegnon has no regrets over.
The 20-year-old, who burst onto the scene as a teenager at Fulham, joined Hoffenheim on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last year and it’s fair to say that he’s got his swagger back.
Sessegnon isn’t the first young Englishman to seek game time in the Bundesliga
GETTY
Sessegnon isn’t the first young Englishman to seek game time in the Bundesliga
“I’ve noticed a change in me and how I am around other people,” he says as we sit down to chat, virtually, over Zoom, in a season where the England youngster has established himself as a key component in the Hoffenheim team, scoring twice in 26 appearances in all competitions.
Now, as the season nears its end, Sessegnon has his eyes set on returning to Tottenham, who paid £25m for his services in August 2019 and will be under new management this summer after Jose Mourinho was sacked in the build up to the Carabao Cup final.
Plenty of names have been linked with the Tottenham hotseat in recent weeks, but if Sessegnon had his way, he’d be looking to bring his former Fulham boss – and ex-Spurs midfielder – Scott Parker back to North London.
When talkSPORT put the Parker links to Sessegnon, he said: “That would be very good!
“Everyone knows the relationship I have with Scott. He’s a top guy, top man and a top coach. He’s just an all-round great guy.
Parker, a former Tottenham player, has impressed during his time in charge of Fulham
AFP
Parker, a former Tottenham player, has impressed during his time in charge of Fulham
“I played with him in his last season I think in professional football and my first. He’s someone that has obviously always believed in me as well.
“They [Fulham] have got fantastic results against some of the big teams where other teams wouldn’t have thought they would get those type of points. Scott has got them playing the right type of football; that’s what I admire about him.
“He obviously has a philosophy of play and sticks to it and all the players are buying into that. Recently, it hasn’t been so good for them in terms of results, but I think the performances and effort is still there.
“I hope they [Fulham] still get out of the situation they are in and stay up, of course. Like you say, it’s a club that is very close to me and I hope that they do it.
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon emerged as a bright young star at Fulham
“In some ways, I haven’t even really got going at Spurs. It’s been stop-start since I’ve been there.
“I got there [to Spurs] and [Mauricio] Pochettino was there. I just came back from injury and then he got sacked and Mourinho came in and then I got sent on loan. It’s been hectic and stop and start. Like you say, it’s a fresh start for me to go back and show what I can do.”
There is a growing English contingent currently out in Germany, with Jude Bellingham as well as Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, Demarai Gray at Bayer Leverkusen and Reece Oxford at Augsburg.
Since Sancho’s shock move from Emirates Marketing Project to Dortmund in 2017, more English talent have taken the plunge and moved to the Bundesliga, with German clubs seemingly more willing to give young players regular game time in an elite league.
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon is yet to get much of a chance at Spurs
Not only has Sessegnon been getting regular minutes, but he’s also been forced to mature as he lives away from family and friends who cannot physically see him due to coronavirus restrictions.
As such, he has been playing with new-found freedom and confidence in a league that embraces young talent, which is why Sessegnon believes Hoffenheim was the perfect move at this stage in his career, especially with the team’s style of play under head coach Sebastian Hoeness.
“It’s been very good,” Sessegnon beams.
“Challenging, but in a positive way. I’m improving every day.
“I just had to have a conversation with myself, to be honest with you, and really find a team that was best suited to me and of course, with the young coach here, who is very good with young players, it was one of the main reasons I came here.
“The way we play here with the five and the four, we can change it up and I think it suits the way I play as well. It’s a possession-based team as well, which is obviously good and the right way in playing football in my opinion. It was little factors added together which helped make my decision and it was a fairly easy one.
“Everyone knows I played with Howie [Havard Nordtveit] at Fulham and he was one of the ones who welcomed me very well when I came here.
Sessegnon has earned plenty of experience against top-class opposition
AFP
Sessegnon has earned plenty of experience against top-class opposition
“When there was talk of me going on loan, there was a few players I spoke to. I spoke to Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko, who knew my situation about going on loan. They encouraged me as well to try abroad and see what that was like. If it was a club that you can go and get minutes, why would you not go? That was a boost for me as well.
“Mourinho was messaging me when I first got out here and asking me: ‘How was it going?’ and praising me for the first few games I played when I was here. Player wise, I keep in touch with Eric Dier a lot, Dele Alli & Steven Bergwijn. Throughout the season, we’ve been keeping in touch.”
On Mourinho’s departure from north London, Sessegnon adds: “He was a very good manager. Very tactical. A very serious coach, but at the same time, you could have a laugh and a joke as well at the right time.
“Obviously, [he’s] a serial winner, of course. I didn’t get too many opportunities to play under him but from what I saw from what I was doing in training, he’s very intelligent in what he wants to do and setting up his teams.”
In his relatively short career to date, the youngster has played down the left-hand side as a winger, wing-back and full-back, previously citing the likes of Gareth Bale as well as Luke Shaw as role models.
Sessegnon has been a regular in England’s youth set up
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon has been a regular in England’s youth set up
Long term, though, left-back is the position which Sessegnon wants to own and given Gareth Southgate’s willingness to give youth a chance, the 20-year-old also has his eye on an England call-up, too.
“Longer term, I see myself as a left-back, purely because I feel it’s the position I feel most comfortable,” he finished.
“It’s a position where I feel I can attack from and also defend from, which I’ve tried to improve since I’ve been here.
“If we do speak again anytime next year, I hope to be playing for Spurs and playing in the Premier League. Getting in and around the England squad as well is one of my aims. I just want to be playing well and be back to the Ryan Sessegnon most people know. But for me now, it is just about finishing the season strongly with Hoffenheim.”
The 20-year-old, who burst onto the scene as a teenager at Fulham, joined Hoffenheim on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last year and it’s fair to say that he’s got his swagger back.
Sessegnon isn’t the first young Englishman to seek game time in the Bundesliga
GETTY
Sessegnon isn’t the first young Englishman to seek game time in the Bundesliga
“I’ve noticed a change in me and how I am around other people,” he says as we sit down to chat, virtually, over Zoom, in a season where the England youngster has established himself as a key component in the Hoffenheim team, scoring twice in 26 appearances in all competitions.
Now, as the season nears its end, Sessegnon has his eyes set on returning to Tottenham, who paid £25m for his services in August 2019 and will be under new management this summer after Jose Mourinho was sacked in the build up to the Carabao Cup final.
Plenty of names have been linked with the Tottenham hotseat in recent weeks, but if Sessegnon had his way, he’d be looking to bring his former Fulham boss – and ex-Spurs midfielder – Scott Parker back to North London.
When talkSPORT put the Parker links to Sessegnon, he said: “That would be very good!
“Everyone knows the relationship I have with Scott. He’s a top guy, top man and a top coach. He’s just an all-round great guy.
Parker, a former Tottenham player, has impressed during his time in charge of Fulham
AFP
Parker, a former Tottenham player, has impressed during his time in charge of Fulham
“I played with him in his last season I think in professional football and my first. He’s someone that has obviously always believed in me as well.
“They [Fulham] have got fantastic results against some of the big teams where other teams wouldn’t have thought they would get those type of points. Scott has got them playing the right type of football; that’s what I admire about him.
“He obviously has a philosophy of play and sticks to it and all the players are buying into that. Recently, it hasn’t been so good for them in terms of results, but I think the performances and effort is still there.
“I hope they [Fulham] still get out of the situation they are in and stay up, of course. Like you say, it’s a club that is very close to me and I hope that they do it.
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon emerged as a bright young star at Fulham
“In some ways, I haven’t even really got going at Spurs. It’s been stop-start since I’ve been there.
“I got there [to Spurs] and [Mauricio] Pochettino was there. I just came back from injury and then he got sacked and Mourinho came in and then I got sent on loan. It’s been hectic and stop and start. Like you say, it’s a fresh start for me to go back and show what I can do.”
There is a growing English contingent currently out in Germany, with Jude Bellingham as well as Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, Demarai Gray at Bayer Leverkusen and Reece Oxford at Augsburg.
Since Sancho’s shock move from Emirates Marketing Project to Dortmund in 2017, more English talent have taken the plunge and moved to the Bundesliga, with German clubs seemingly more willing to give young players regular game time in an elite league.
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon is yet to get much of a chance at Spurs
Not only has Sessegnon been getting regular minutes, but he’s also been forced to mature as he lives away from family and friends who cannot physically see him due to coronavirus restrictions.
As such, he has been playing with new-found freedom and confidence in a league that embraces young talent, which is why Sessegnon believes Hoffenheim was the perfect move at this stage in his career, especially with the team’s style of play under head coach Sebastian Hoeness.
“It’s been very good,” Sessegnon beams.
“Challenging, but in a positive way. I’m improving every day.
“I just had to have a conversation with myself, to be honest with you, and really find a team that was best suited to me and of course, with the young coach here, who is very good with young players, it was one of the main reasons I came here.
“The way we play here with the five and the four, we can change it up and I think it suits the way I play as well. It’s a possession-based team as well, which is obviously good and the right way in playing football in my opinion. It was little factors added together which helped make my decision and it was a fairly easy one.
“Everyone knows I played with Howie [Havard Nordtveit] at Fulham and he was one of the ones who welcomed me very well when I came here.
Sessegnon has earned plenty of experience against top-class opposition
AFP
Sessegnon has earned plenty of experience against top-class opposition
“When there was talk of me going on loan, there was a few players I spoke to. I spoke to Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko, who knew my situation about going on loan. They encouraged me as well to try abroad and see what that was like. If it was a club that you can go and get minutes, why would you not go? That was a boost for me as well.
“Mourinho was messaging me when I first got out here and asking me: ‘How was it going?’ and praising me for the first few games I played when I was here. Player wise, I keep in touch with Eric Dier a lot, Dele Alli & Steven Bergwijn. Throughout the season, we’ve been keeping in touch.”
On Mourinho’s departure from north London, Sessegnon adds: “He was a very good manager. Very tactical. A very serious coach, but at the same time, you could have a laugh and a joke as well at the right time.
“Obviously, [he’s] a serial winner, of course. I didn’t get too many opportunities to play under him but from what I saw from what I was doing in training, he’s very intelligent in what he wants to do and setting up his teams.”
In his relatively short career to date, the youngster has played down the left-hand side as a winger, wing-back and full-back, previously citing the likes of Gareth Bale as well as Luke Shaw as role models.
Sessegnon has been a regular in England’s youth set up
GETTY IMAGES - GETTY
Sessegnon has been a regular in England’s youth set up
Long term, though, left-back is the position which Sessegnon wants to own and given Gareth Southgate’s willingness to give youth a chance, the 20-year-old also has his eye on an England call-up, too.
“Longer term, I see myself as a left-back, purely because I feel it’s the position I feel most comfortable,” he finished.
“It’s a position where I feel I can attack from and also defend from, which I’ve tried to improve since I’ve been here.
“If we do speak again anytime next year, I hope to be playing for Spurs and playing in the Premier League. Getting in and around the England squad as well is one of my aims. I just want to be playing well and be back to the Ryan Sessegnon most people know. But for me now, it is just about finishing the season strongly with Hoffenheim.”
