salubrey. The bags were packed and Joel Asoro was ready to move on to the latter.
But Djurgården’s star striker remained in Djurgården.
It was really close to actually moving, he says.
Djurgården just finished a two hour session with lots of small group play and physical activity in the hot sun. The wind certainly dampened the worst of the heat, but it’s no exaggeration that Djurgården’s early days at training camp in Gran Canaria were tough.
Just ask Joel Asuro.
– They (fitness instructors) are killing us. You should have joined the gym that day. I wanted to vomit, it was the worst thing I’ve ever been through, he says.
The striker was surrounded by transfer rumors during the transfer window. They didn’t get any less after his girlfriend wrote in a Facebook group that her partner had gotten a job in France and therefore wondered if one of their dog breeds was allowed in the country.
– I happened to post something. We sat and laughed, Boss (Anderson) laughed too. It wasn’t the worst thing, Asuru says when Sportbladet met him at the luxurious Djurgården Hotel in Salobre, Gran Canaria.
“The handbrake must be released”
Bordeaux wanted to borrow the striker and according to the 23-year-old, it was on the verge of a transfer. There was also interest from Turkey, but Asoro stayed on at Djurgården when the transfer window closed despite being poised to move on to the final.
– It was a little 50-50, maybe 60 percent I will stay. But it’s good that it turned out the way it did.
Did you put the bags here in the room?
– Almost like that. There was a bit of planning involved, but in the end it was the best thing for me to stay put. You don’t have a lot of control, you just have to accept it. You can’t do much, what happens, happens.
Now Asoro is instead eyeing a spring break with Djurgården and the Europa Conference League play-offs.
– I will continue to work and do what I can do and be better than I was last year. I want it to be my best year. I feel like I have more purpose in me. I feel like I’m just starting to really move forward. Now I’m going to release Handbrake. I’ve never felt like training like I do now. He says I have a good sense of self, so it’s just a matter of driving.