Sunday 27 July 2014 15:03, UK
Bojan Krkic is confident that he will fit in well at Stoke City after being told of Mark Hughes’ ambitions for the club.
Hughes earned praise last season for helping Stoke to play a more attractive brand of football and the arrival of Bojan from Barcelona shows that he intends to keep the club moving forward.
The 23-year-old forward understands that playing in the Premier League will present a different challenge but he feels he has a lot to offer at the Britannia Stadium.
He is excited about working under Hughes, who had a stint with Barca as a player, and feels there is a lot of potential in the Stoke squad.
Mark played for Barcelona and that was an obvious connection, but I wanted to come here to play for a team on the up. Mark also told me of the ambitions here, and that was important to me.
“Mark Hughes likes the team to play football, and that is the same philosophy as many coaches I played under in Spain,” Bojan, who played his first 45 minutes for the club in a 2-0 loss to 1860 Munich on Saturday, said in the Sun on Sunday.
“I understand here that managers like the players to be stronger maybe than in Spain, and over the last 12 months I did a lot of gym work which has helped me.
“Mark played for Barcelona and that was an obvious connection, but I wanted to come here to play for a team on the up. Mark also told me of the ambitions here, and that was important to me.
“There are many good players that want to play with the ball at their feet. That will suit the way I like to play.
“I know what I am capable of on the pitch. I like to get the ball on the ground, make good plays and move the ball around the pitch quickly at a good tempo.”
