Fulham midfielder Derek Boateng says he’s settling well to life in London and hopes to help the Club’s other new arrivals bed in.
Boateng arrived on a free transfer back in May, signing officially on 1st July, so has had an entire summer to get used to playing in SW6. The Ghana international made his Barclays Premier League debut away against Sunderland in the opening day win, and is delighted to be on the pitch again.
“It’s been a very good experience for me,” he said. “Being in the Premier League has been great and training alongside the kind of players we have here at Fulham. I’m getting used to the league and am very excited to be here.
“It’s a very tough league, but a very good league. Everyone is trying to do their best and every game you play is very tough. The stadium is usually full at every club which shows how much the fans love the football here and I have definitely found the right team and I am so happy to be able to play here.”
The 30-year-old midfielder played in Greece, Israel, Germany and Spain before he joined Ukrainian club FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in 2011. And, now he’s a fixture in the First Team squad at Fulham, Boateng is keen to help others develop and learn from his experiences.
“It’s a bit different to the other leagues I’ve played in around Europe. In Spain, they have a different style of play and the fans are different, so it’s been good for me to come to England because of the language and I have a lot of friends here. It’s not too far away from Ghana either, so I can always go back quickly when I need to.
“I am a new player, so I try to help the other new players settle here as well and that is very important. When I came in, the way everyone reacted and received me into the Club was great, so I try and do that to the new boys as well.”
While a host of Fulham players are now off on international duty, Boateng is turning his focus to the Whites’ next match at the Cottage this weekend.
“We’re all looking forward to West Bromwich Albion now,” he said. “It’s a very important game for us after we lost the last two, so we need to get three points and get ourselves back on track and raise the confidence levels for the rest of the season.”