Thursday 31 July 2014 16:37, UK
New Borussia Dortmund forward Ciro Immobile insists he has no qualms about filling the boots of Robert Lewandowski, saying the Pole now belongs to Dortmund's past while he is their future.
The Italy international signed for the Bundesliga side this summer as a direct replacement for Lewandowski, who moved to Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
And after ending last season as Serie A's top goalscorer with Torino, Immobile is not worried about taking the place of a man who was the Bundesliga's leading marksman last year.
"Being his successor is not going to weigh me down," the 24-year-old said at a press conference on Thursday.
"He scored many goals and I don't know if I'll score more than he did, but he is the past, I am the present."
Immobile has only been training with his new team-mates for a week but he says he has quickly settled into his new environment and is already looking forward to his first game at the Westfalenstadion.
"I've followed Dortmund since I was seven and they beat Juventus in the Champions League," he said.
"I was intrigued by them because I know how passionate their fans are."
He also now knows how well prepared his new coach Jurgen Klopp is.
"He told me that he'd seen over 70 games of me in order to study my strengths," Immobile said. "That's more games than even my dad has seen."
