NYLAND: "I'M A GOOD ALL-ROUND GOALKEEPER AND I LIKE TO BE COMMANDING IN THE BOX"

Our newest signing Orjan Nyland sat down with Sevilla FC Official Media for his first interview as a Sevilla player.

Speaking in English, the Norwegian goalkeeper was very grateful on his first day at the club: "Thank you very much. It's a great pleasure to be here, I'm honoured. It was a great first day after a long day yesterday, doing all the medical stuff and yeah, it's a pleasure to be here and I'm very much looking forward to the time coming. All the teammates, all the staff and the club gave me a very warm welcome, so it was an easy transition for me to come here, even though it's Spain, it's a new country for me, but everyone made it easy for me and took care of me, so that's a very good sign."

Nyland is very aware of what it means to sign for Sevilla: "I know it's a very big club that have done very well in Europe the last couple of years. They've won the Europa League and got a couple of trophies in recent years which states just how big the club is, so it's an honour for me to be here and be a part of the team. I'll do my best to keep on getting the trophies in and win as many games as possible for this great club to maintain the history of the club and like I've said before, I can't wait to get started."

"I've followed LaLiga since I was a little boy"

The Norwegian international also spoke about coming to a new league, which he regularly discusses with international team-mate Sorloth, who has just joined Villarreal from Real Sociedad: "I've followed La Liga since I was a kid, always with the big players at different clubs. It's a league that attracts a lot of quality players and has a very high level of individual qualities, but also as a team. So I've followed it since I was a little boy and it's very cool to now be able to play in the league. I like to have the opportunity as well to be able to play in one of the leagues that I've followed since I was a kid. So, it's going to be very fun. I've not spoken to Sorloth the last couple of days, but always when we meet up at the national team, I've been curious to find out how he's doing and how life is there, And it's been a pleasure to follow him as well, he's done very well. He's spoken very highly of the league and other players that I've talked to as well have done the same. So, it's very promising."

Champions League football is also something that excites Nyland: "You can see last year the team obviously belongs in European competition and to go the whole way last year it just states that the club can do very well in Europe. It's going to be very interesting to see the draw for the Group Stage, obviously. But there's definitely a big opportunity for the club to continue to do well. Being a part of the Champions League last year at my former club too, it's a very fun competition to play in, and I'm really looking forward to that."

"To be able to get silverware and lift trophies would be something I would wish very highly"

Nyland is targeting success at his new club: "I've done that at the clubs that I've been a part of. So it's definitely something I still want to achieve here as well. With the history of this club, it's also something you want to do, and the club's done it before. So to be able to get silverware and lift trophies would be something I would wish very highly."

The focus then turned to his style of play: "I would say I'm a goalkeeper with good qualities on the ball with both feet. I'm a big goalkeeper, I like to be commanding in the box and take care of the penalty area, but with a good passing range. I can save, I can defend the goal very well. So I think I'm a good all-round goalkeeper. Obviously I can still improve on all areas, so that's what I'm trying to do every day. I also want to be a goalkeeper that my teammates can rely on to be able to take the pressure off, and be one of the leaders that take responsibility and show yourself with your character, charisma, an aura."

"I think my strongest aspect is on the ball and saving shots"

As for his main strengths, he commented that "I would probably say on the ball and saving shots. That's a good combination also to implement there as well, to take the pressure off with the ball and be calm under pressure. But also when the challenges come, when the shots come, to stop them. You just use all the qualities that you have."

Nyland considers Buffon, Neuer and Van der Sar to be examples to follow: "I've been following a lot of goalkeepers the last couple of years. One of my idols just retired recently, Gigi Buffon. He was one that I looked up to when I was a kid and I've also been able to play against him. I've tried to look at him and what he's doing and try to implement that in my game. Also I played in leagues where I played against the likes of Manuel Neuer, who is a more modern goalkeeper, sweeping off his line and good with the ball at his feet. So I've tried to get and learn stuff from him as well. Another one is Edwin van der Sar. When he played at United he came in and even though he was kind of an old goalkeeper, like 35 or something when he came to United, he was still be able to play five or six more years and he did very well. So he's a good shot stopper as well, a big guy with a lot of calmness. So I've taken bits from him as well. Then I try to make it my own."

He also commented on his fellow countryman Frode Olsen, who was the first Norwegian goalkeeper to feature for the club between 2000 and 2002: "I've heard about him and I've seen some national team games when he was a goalkeeper there as well. Also I think I've seen some old clips from him playing here as well. So it's a very good club to be at and I'm looking forward to the time coming."

"I'm here to do everything I can to make sure that this club keeps winning"

Nyland also discussed coming up against top-level players: "I've been able to play against many good players, but it's always when you play against the best players, there's always a big challenge. To play against the likes of Aguero or de Bruyne, just to name a few, has been very challenging and very cool. Now obviously here in La Liga there are many good players as well that I'm looking forward to playing against so I'll do my best to keep the ball out of the net."

He then spoke about what he considers to be his best save: "I think I had one last year in the international campaign, we played against Serbia in qualification at home, which was a game that was very intense. Both teams more or less had to win, especially us, Norway, and there was one cross early in the first half at 0-0 for Vlahovic, the Juventus striker, and that was a big, big save at 0-0, so that's maybe the best one that I've done."

To finish, Nyland sent a message to the fans: "I'm here to do everything I can to make sure that this club keeps winning and keeps playing very well to be able to participate in European competitions and do well. It's a pleasure for me to be here and I'm really looking forward to get to know the stadium, the fans, the city. I'm honoured to be here and I'm looking forward to the coming time."