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Insider view of Villa’s two new Danish additions

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I recently had the pleasure of meeting Dennis Krog, a Danish Sports Correspondent who works for 6eren enter
http://www.6-eren.dk/re

a Danish television station (Channel 6) that cover the English Premier League.

Dennis studied at the University of Southern Denmark and has experience of working in both Thailand and Denmark (with 6’eren) on internships. He has moved to England to work with 6’eren (Channel 6) on their coverage of the Premier League for the upcoming season; prior to his journalistic career, he worked as a casino croupier and in the hotel industry.

I met Dennis at Birmingham New Street train station before the pre-season match at Walsall, I wearing my away shirt with Helenius ‘9’ on he was keen to get a photo of it.

Dennis has agreed his give an inside view on Villa’s two new Danish signings, Jores Okore Jores Okore . and Nicklas Helenius .

Prior to the announcement of Villa’s two latest acquisitions from Denmark (Jores Okore and Nicklas Helenius) not many Villa fans could of told you who they were; similar to when Benteke, Lowton and Vlaar etc. were signed last season. Dennis first gave his thoughts about how he thought Okore and Helenius would settle to the daunting pace of the Premier League compared to the Danish Superliga.

“I don`t have any doubts when it comes to Jores Okore, he is a very big talent. He’d been playing very strong in the Danish league, though is still young and will still make mistakes, but I think he is a talent who can make it far. In many ways his career reminds me of Liverpool`s Daniel Agger and he hasn`t done that badly has he”.

On Nicklas Helenius: “I understand why he came to Aston Villa and I’m sure he believes in himself, however I think it will be difficult for him at first. He will have to perform at a level or two higher than he did in Denmark. He has talent, no doubt, but think he will be used firstly at Villa as an impact substitute, a role that I don`t think will suit him very well.
But if he scores in the first match and earns Paul Lambert’s trust then he might prove me wrong, but even if he has to spend a lot of time on the bench, I still think he made the right move. He still has a lot to learn and should get playing time in the FA Cup and Capital One Cup, where he will learn a lot.”

Last season UEFA voted Nicklas Helenius the Danish League’s player of the season after he finished 2nd highest scorer (16 goals) in the Danish Superliga. But Dennis doesn’t think he will be capable of repeating that lethal scoring feat that he possessed in Denmark, in the upcoming Premier League season.

“That would surprise me, one has to be careful comparing him (Helenius) with last years big surprise Benteke. Helenius is not on that level, not yet at least, I think the Villa fans should be happy if Helenius scores five goals. I would consider that to be a good first season for him playing in England for the first time with Villa”.

Speaking on Jores Okore, Dennis thought his abilities would be a positive addition to a Villa defence that was comparable to glass to say the least last season, but cautiously warned that he was still learning.

“I don`t doubt Jores’s ability, but he will still make mistakes due to his age. He loves the big games as we saw against Chelsea last season in the Champions League, he will be a big boost for the Aston Villa defence.

Jores and Nicklas are already full Internationals for their country, even at such a young age and Dennis’s thought were they could be influential figures for Denmark in the near future.

“Well it’s pretty certain that Denmark will not qualify for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, but if we are looking towards the future, I’m sure (Jores) Okore will be a big part of it. Helenius has a lot of qualified competition, Andreas Cornelius who recently signed for Cardiff, Nicklas Bendtner (if he finds form) and Viktor Fischer at Ajax.
Both players actually face great competition in the national team, as there are many signs of a ‘golden’ generation coming up, who are currently playing for the under 19s”.

Dennis’s watched Villa’s pre-season friendly at Walsall was last week and thought Helenius played very well on his first sightings of him in English football.

“He did will, worked hard, having a foot in two of the goals. The second one being a fine touch ball through to Jack Grealish. I think fans of Villa will see more assists from Helenius than goals in the coming season.”

A known fact is that most Villa fans want to see a new number 10 type player who will bring something to Villa that has been absent since James Milner’s departure in 2010, a touch of craft and creativity from midfield.
During the match against Walsall, which Villa comfortably won 5-0, Helenius played in a four prong-attack alongside Agbonlahor, Weimann and Benteke, but Dennis thought he wasn’t the ‘number 10 type player’ that the Villa faithful had been looking for.

“To be honest I don`t think so, but I would love to be proven wrong”.

So in conclusion there is my interview with freelancer Dennis Krog, which I thank him greatly for, giving us Villa fans a more detailed look at two of our new signings.

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