Rick Karsdorp admits Kevin Strootman “convinced me to come” to Roma. “I am sure I’ll become a more complete player here.”
The 22-year-old right-back arrived from Feyenoord for €14m and this week went under the knife for a routine knee operation.
“I am really eager to get started and my vacation has felt rather too long this summer,” said the Dutch international in his Press conference.
Rick Karsdorp admits Kevin Strootman “convinced me to come” to Roma. “I am sure I’ll become a more complete player here.”
The 22-year-old right-back arrived from Feyenoord for €14m and this week went under the knife for a routine knee operation.
“I am really eager to get started and my vacation has felt rather too long this summer,” said the Dutch international in his Press conference.
“I hope to get this issue resolved within three to four weeks. I want to give so much back to this club and to prove myself here.
“The presence of Strootman is very important for me. He really did advise me to come to Roma and that was not a simple decision, as I had some concerns about leaving Feyenoord, but Kevin convinced me to come here.
“I started out as an attacking midfielder and then changed role to right-back aged 20. It’s difficult for me to compare myself to other right-backs, so I just try to prove what I can do on the pitch.
“I consider myself a small player, so you mustn’t have excessive expectations for me. I can’t be compared to Cafu.
“Any player who goes from the Dutch League to Italy needs to work hard and learn the new type of football. I have very attacking characteristics, so I have to learn how to defend better very quickly. I am sure I’ll become a more complete player here.
“Meanwhile, Feyenoord hadn’t won the Dutch title in 18 years, but one of my objectives was to become Champion of Holland and I achieved that.
“On vacation, I received the call from Roma and chose to accept pretty quickly. It’s true that Sassuolo already wanted to sign me when Eusebio Di Francesco was the Coach, but I had only played one season as a starter at Feyenoord and wanted to gain experience.
“Naturally, the fact the Coach was always interested is very gratifying.”