Ian Rush blames it all on Kenny Dalglish. “I didn’t actually say Italy was ‘like living in a foreign country’,” insisted the former Liverpool striker in an interview in 2016. “When he re-signed me, a reporter asked me, ‘Why have you come back?’ Kenny quipped, ‘He said it was like playing in a foreign country’. He’s got a lot to answer for.”
But while Rush would be the first to admit Juventus supporters did not see the best of him during his solitary season in Italy in 1987 as he struggled with a new language and culture, the next generation of young British players are taking the plunge and heading overseas in search of opportunities to play.
Born in Brockley, south London to Ivorian parents, Jonathan Panzo is unlikely to encounter such problems settling in at Monaco. A member of England’s Under-17 side who beat Spain in the World Cup final last year who had been at Chelsea since the age of nine, he was already competent in French before sealing his move to Ligue 1 at the start of July. Panzo, who turns 18 in October, won five trophies in his final season in London – including the club’s fifth successive FA Youth Cup – and will link up with Chelsea’s former technical director Michael Emenalo, who joined Monaco last year weeks after leaving Stamford Bridge.
“At first, everyone was thinking that it was because of Michael that he signed for Monaco but they have been following Jonathan closely for two or three years,” says Badou Sambagué, the intermediary who worked on Panzo’s move to Monaco. “They had received a lot of reports and had already tried to sign him but Chelsea were not keen to sell. In December, we had interest from Juventus, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Valencia and Monaco and eventually decided he would leave at the end of the season. But Chelseaknow he can have time to grow and said there could still be a place for him back there in the future.”
After England’s Under-20 side were also crowned world champions last year and with Panzo’s international teammate Jadon Sancho thriving at Borussia Dortmund after leaving Manchester City, young British players have never been so in demand. In June, 16-year-old Noni Madueke signed for PSV Eindhoven from Tottenham having rejected a professional contract with Manchester United. The playmaker made his debut in the Uefa Youth League last season for Spurs and has starred for England at various youth levels, making his decision to leave even more intriguing.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
