Leroy Fer is currently enjoying his return to Feyenoord, the club where he spent years in the academy and made his professional debut. He left Swansea City in the summer and was offered a contract in the Netherlands after training with the club.
The 29-year-old has been interviewed by the Dutch side’s official magazine this week, and one of the topics was the way he was treated when he was just a youngster in the squad.
Fer spoke about the difference of going back to Feyenoord now that he’s more experienced, and had a little to say about his time in Wales as well.
The player has claimed that things are quite different in the United Kingdom, since the youngsters don’t really get great treatment from the first team players, and that’s something he tried to change during his time at Swansea City.
“That’s right too. Here the young boys are just part of the group. I find that much better myself. I think this has changed throughout Dutch football,” he said (via FR Fans).
“In the UK, the hierarchy is somewhat stricter. When Swansea boys from the second team were training, they were expected to keep their mouth shut. I tried to change that from time to time as a leader, by putting an arm around those boys and showing that they were one of us. But you get a strange look. ‘He’s from the second, cut it down’, teammates then said to me.”
Fer joined Feyenoord on a free transfer this summer, and has had a quick impact at the club, scoring three goals in 12 appearances for them this season.
