This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

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This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

New Leicester City signing Cengiz Ünder is excited to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing to join the Foxes on a season-long loan from Serie A side AS Roma.

2020-09-20T07:59:00.000Z

This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

New Leicester City signing Cengiz Ünder is excited to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing to join the Foxes on a season-long loan from Serie A side AS Roma.

2020-09-20T07:59:00.000Z

This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

New Leicester City signing Cengiz Ünder is excited to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing to join the Foxes on a season-long loan from Serie A side AS Roma.

2020-09-20T07:59:00.000Z

This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

New Leicester City signing Cengiz Ünder is excited to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing to join the Foxes on a season-long loan from Serie A side AS Roma.

2020-09-20T07:59:00.000Z

This Is A New Page In My Life, Says Ünder

New Leicester City signing Cengiz Ünder is excited to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing to join the Foxes on a season-long loan from Serie A side AS Roma.

2020-09-20T07:59:00.000Z

The Turkey international will arrive at King Power Stadium with a significant amount of experience, both internationally for the Crescent-Stars and in European club competitions.

Speaking to LCFC.com after agreeing his switch to City, the 23-year-old winger spoke at length about his reasons for joining the Club, his relationship with ‘best friend’ Çağlar Söyüncü and the motivation he has to demonstrate his abilities in the Premier League.

Ünder first met Söyüncü as a teenager during their time together at Turkish side Altınordu and the exciting winger has watched his close friend from afar since he joined the Foxes.

Their dream as youngsters, Ünder revealed, was to play alongside one another in one of Europe’s major leagues – an aspiration which is about to become a reality in Leicester colours throughout 2020/21.

“I feel very good because my best friend plays for Leicester City,” Cengiz said. “I am very happy to be able to play with Çağlar and I always watched Leicester’s games because of him.

“I know all the players, their strengths and capabilities. I can’t wait to go to Leicester and start training.

“We had a dream when we were kids to play in Europe together. That dream is now coming true with Leicester. I am so happy for this and I hope everything will be very good.

“In the Premier League last year, he played extraordinarily, and he also showed this to the whole world. It’s really good to watch him play as a central defender and he’s always consistent and always building up his performances.”

After helping İstanbul Başakşehir challenge for the Süper Lig title in his native Turkey, with nine goals in 2016/17, Ünder travelled to Italy to sign for Roma in 2017.

Since then, the Sındırgı-born midfielder has carved out a reputation as a direct and attacking winger – renowned as a scorer of extraordinary goals both for club and country.

Ünder is confident that the unique playing style on show in the Premier League is perfect for his own individual game and is keen to showcase his wide-ranging skillset to the Blue Army.

“That was my first experience in Europe [with Roma],” he explained. “When I first went there, I played very well. I proved myself in attacking areas and I always had the confidence.

“I want to show that confidence by coming to Leicester also. Roma has a special place in my heart because I learned so much, tactically, but I am now opening a new page in my life.

“I’ve always wanted to play in England. I just want to concentrate on playing in the Premier League now. I think I am fast and can create lots of chances for my colleagues.

“I believe that I played very good in the games that I played and I created lots of chances for my team-mates. The most important thing is that I know all the Leicester players’ strengths.

“The style and philosophy in Italy, it was hard to get the ball, but in England, it’s different. I believe that I will do better in England with the ball. I will try to help my team-mates on the pitch and off the pitch and I believe that I can improve my performance every day.”

Ahead of City’s return to the European stage – in the UEFA Europa League – Ünder will add three seasons of continental experience after starring so successfully for Roma in both competitions.

During his maiden campaign in Rome, the Turkey star’s displays helped the Serie A side shock Barcelona to reach the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals, where they narrowly missed out to Liverpool in a breathless two-legged tie in 2017/18.

“I played in the Champions League and Europa League with Roma,” he added. “We were quite successful in the Champions League, reaching the semi-finals.

“I will play in the Europa League with Leicester and I believe we will do lots of good things in Europe. Leicester City’s squad is very young and dynamic, and I think we can do well in the Europa League.

“I believe that I have plenty of experience for both the national team and in Europe. To play at such a young age, I always had good confidence in myself and that is a key factor.

“I have played in big matches in Italy for many years, so hopefully I can have a big impact at Leicester.”

The Club’s support in Turkey has grown incredibly over recent seasons as fans follow Söyüncü’s exploits at King Power Stadium – and that bond attracted Ünder to Leicester.

As well as performing to impress people back in his homeland, the talented youngster is keen to forge a strong relationship with City’s supporters by exhibiting his very best for the Foxes.

“Turkish fans are very passionate,” he continued. “They follow their players in Europe, like Çağlar. The fans know we are close friends and we used to play together. Everyone in Turkey is ready for us to be united again.

“I am very excited to be a part of this great team.

“This is very important for me. I hope I will get to meet with the fans in a short while and I can’t wait to show them my performances on the pitch.”

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