Leo Hjelde has claimed that the only thing seperating Sunderland and Leeds' squads is the level of experience - he doesn't think there's a difference in quality between the team he's left and the team he's joined.
AGE DIFFERENCE
“If you look at the Sunderland squad compared to the one at Leeds, I don’t really think there’s any difference in terms of quality. The biggest difference is probably the age of the squad. We probably don’t have as much experience here. But the quality of the boys is definitely right up there. It’s unbelievable really, and that’s the reason why the club has this philosophy of signing young, exciting talent. The squad is really good, I’m very pleased with what I’ve come in to.”
YOUTH PHILOSOPHY
“I spoke with the club before moving, and had a good chat with the gaffer as well, and the philosophy at the club is playing young talent, and I think that’s really exciting. If you look at the team, there’s not many players that are over 25 so there’s a lot of potential to grow and develop together. It’s a great dressing room to come into, and that’s one of the reasons why I signed as well.”
CLARKE IS QUALITY
“I’ve trained against Jack now, and if I was playing against him in a game, I think it would be a case of praying to God really. He’s brilliant. It’s great to know you’ve got a player like that, where you can give him the ball in tight positions and he will do some magic with it. It made my job easy really – I could stay back and do my job at left-back, knowing that Jack was there in front of me doing his stuff.”
VERSATILE DEFENDER
“My preferred position is centre-back. But listen, I’ll play anywhere. If the gaffer wants me to play striker, I’ll play striker. For me, it’s just about getting game time and being able to get a spot in the team. With the injuries at left-back, the gaffer told me straight away, ‘You’ll slot in at left-back and compete for a position there’. That was very pleasing to hear because I’d been without first-team games for quite a bit of time. We spoke about that, and how we play, being brave and things like that. He made me have a good feeling about the club."
PLAY-OFF AMBITIONS
“The fact Sunderland will be challenging for promotion is one of the reasons I came here, and then it’s the way the club is moving forward as well. Obviously, if we can push our way into the play-offs, that would be brilliant, and that’s the goal of the club. Hopefully, I can contribute to that.”
