Ngoumou: “I enjoy providing the decisive assist"

New arrival Nathan Ngoumou took questions from the media at a press conference on Thursday. The 22-year-old spoke about his transfer to Borussia, his strengths on the pitch and upcoming opponent SC Freiburg.

Nathan Ngoumou on…

...potentially starting in Freiburg: I don’t know what the coach is planning, but I feel very good and trained well today. Of course, as a player you always want to play, and I feel ready to play in the starting XI – but ultimately, that’s the coach’s decision,

...Manu Koné’s role in his transfer to Gladbach: I played together with him in Toulouse, and it’s wonderful to see him again. It makes it much easier to get used to things, I’m currently living with him and he shows me how everything works. He’s helping me to adjust to life in Germany, since he has already lived here for a year. At the moment, Manu’s mother is also there and she cooks for us (laughs). I am extremely happy to be able to play with one of my best friends.

...the other French speaking players in the squad: It’s definitely perfect to help get settled in at the club, as they already know German and can translate on the training ground. For me it was really important that Borussia had multiple players that could help me, as it makes getting adjusted a much faster process.

…his strengths other than pace: My pace is definitely one of them, but I also enjoy going one-v-one, taking the game to the opponent and then making an important pass. I try to help set up goals as well as score them. To score a goal is of course the most important thing, but I actually enjoy giving the decisive assist a little bit more.”

...his comparatively late breakthrough at the age of 21: There were some things I understood very late. Last season , my coach Philippe Montanier at FC Toulouse explained many concepts to me, about mentality too - and it just clicked. Since then, it’s been going well, the goals and assists are coming, but the most important thing is to understand the game. He told me what my qualities are and how I should deploy them. I understood that and therefore how I should use myself here.

...the Foals’ upcoming opponent: I already know SC Freiburg, being a follower of the Bundesliga. The coach will go into more detail tomorrow about how we’re preparing to face them. We will be analysing precisely how we can take some points there.

...the Bundesliga as a place for young French players to develop: Many French clubs try to develop their young players, and they can take that step in another league. The Bundesliga has many clubs who want to play attacking-minded football, and I think that with my qualities, I suit the Bundesliga well. Players like Coman or Diaby, who play for the French national team, are definitely role-models for me – I’d like to go down the same route as them.