Roma midfielder Jordan Veretout thanked Paulo Fonseca for ‘two good seasons’ at the Olimpico and aims to impress Jose Mourinho. ‘It’s an honour’.
Fonseca will leave after two years at Trigoria and the former Shakhtar Donetsk coach was the one who brought Veretout to the Italian capital.
The 28-year-old moved from Fiorentina in July 2019 and was given an important role in the team by Fonseca.
“He’s a very rigorous coach and I have made a lot of progress with him,” Veretout told RMC Sport. “I spent two good seasons with him.
“I thank him, and I hope he finds a good club because he is a really good coach. He is humble and helpful; he has always been fair to us.”
The next Roma coach is Mourinho, who will take over ahead of 2021-22 and Veretout admitted it will be ‘an honour’ to work with the former Inter tactician.
“He’s a great coach, who has won many titles,” Veretout continued. “In Italy we remember the Treble with Inter.
“I think it comes with ambition. It’s always an honour for a player to be coached by great coaches, to achieve great targets.”
The French midfielder, who scored 10 goals in 29 Serie A games this term, wants to show the new coach that he is the leader needed in the middle of the park.
“When I enter the pitch, my behaviour changes. For me, it’s automatic,” Veretout added. “I want to win; I do everything to help my team.
“My job is to attack the players who carries the ball. If I do this first, the others will surely follow. It’s simple; when someone pushes you, you have to respond.
“If I see a teammate making a great effort, I will inevitably trigger. My game is to run and press. I’m not the type to stop if they don’t give me the ball when I run forward.”