Samuel Umtiti heaps praise on Sporting star: Had just signed and... | OneFootball

Morten Hjulmand received a lot of praise from Samuel Umtiti in an interview recently given to the French newspaper L'Équipe. The 2018 World Cup champion crossed paths with the green and white captain at Lecce, and shared some stories from the time they spent together.

"When I arrived at Lecce [in 2022], the club had just been promoted [to Serie A]. He [Hjulmand] was the captain and I felt that he had the soul of a leader, even though he wasn’t the oldest or the most experienced in the squad," Samuel Umtiti began, speaking about the Sporting player who is not going through his best moment.

The 2018 World Cup champion continued: "There was one night when he came to my room to talk to me, to see how I was feeling. I had just signed and wasn’t physically ready [to play] yet, but he told me that the team was counting on me. He spoke to me as a captain should, regardless of my status. I really appreciated that approach."

"Since our team had just been promoted and defended a lot, our style of play didn’t help him express his qualities, because technically he was a level above. He’s good at dictating the pace of the game, recovering balls, and has a good shot. We may not talk about him much, but he’s indispensable to the team. And he’s very similar to Hojberg, it’s true," added the retired player, about Morten Hjulmand's time at Lecce.

He finished with more praise, also highlighting the Sporting captain’s personality: "He has all the qualities of a modern midfielder: physicality, technique... He has the potential to become a top player. I am very proud to have been part of his development. Besides being a very good player, he’s also a very good person."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.