Izzy Brown: "Vitesse was good to move away from home at a young age."
Izzy Brown has spoken highly of his time at Vitesse and explains how he turned down loans to more established clubs to join Rotherham United for game time.
“It was good to move away from home at a young age,” he said. “It was difficult. I had to adapt to a different language and culture, but it made me a bigger and stronger man. To come into a new dressing room with grown men is difficult for a young boy, but it is nice to be here, and the players have made me feel welcome.
“I had to consider what is best for me and my career,” he said. “I could have gone somewhere maybe in the lower Premier League or the top of the Championship where I knew would be difficult because it is hard to play games and a fight for your shirt.
“Even here, you have to fight for your shirt. But here I have more of a chance to play and show what I can do. The Championship is one of the hardest leagues in the world. All the stats show that you run the most. Because I am in England this year, it is a big place to show your potential. If you score 10 goals in the first half of the season, everyone will be talking about you.
“Game-time is the most important thing. You can train with as many top players as you want, but you want to be out there, scoring goals and making assists.” “I will probably have an initiation song on the first away game,” he grinned. “I know it is going to come. I can’t sing, but I will give it a go - probably a John Legend song.”
“Hopefully I will bring excitement to the fans. When I have the ball, hopefully they will think something is going to happen,” he said. “I want to be an exciting player and I will give everything for the club. I don’t worry about Chelsea now. I will give 110 per cent.
“I feel fitter than I probably have ever been. I played five games in the European Under-19 Championships with England in the summer and that was basically my pre-season. I am fully match-fit and have been training every day with Chelsea.
“I want to be a full international for my country,” he said. “I have supported Chelsea since I was a little boy, so playing for their first team regularly is always a dream. Everyone says they want to be a footballer, but only a select few have that chance - and I have, so I will give everything to be where I want to be.
“Jose was good with the things he used to say to me. He used to help me in training and talk to me. He’s a great manager, as you can see from all the trophies he won. I was a bit upset to see him leave as I knew he had high hopes for me, but that is part of football. Even when one of the best managers in the world says something nice about you, you still have to focus. I haven’t made it yet.
“I am fully match fit and have been training every day with Chelsea. “I cannot wait. My debut might come Saturday, I don’t know. But I am looking forward to playing at Rotherham’s stadium. I have played there before (for England), so have good memories.
“There’s a bit of competition going on. Me and Tammy are always saying: ‘Who is going to score most goals?’. Me and Tammy play for England together and are good friends off the pitch and I think Kasey and I are going to go out for food one night as we are not too far away. It is good to have people around here who you can spend time with off the pitch.”
