As debuts went, Lovre Kalinić’s first outing for Toulouse on loan from Aston Villa could have gone a lot better.
The Croatia international was unable to stop Lyon in a 3-0 loss, but turned things around a few days later when the 20th club in Ligue 1 faced Amiens away from home.
Kalinić managed to keep a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw, and spoke to the press, more precisely France Bleu Haute-Garonne, about it, since it was the first time since the August 31st that a team hadn’t put a goal past a Toulouse goalkeeper.
However, the radio station couldn’t help but ask about the loan deal that took him from Villa Park to the south of France, and wanted to know how it came about.
He said: “I follow football. I knew the club’s situation before I came here. I knew what to expect when I got here. I was ready for this challenge. I grasped this opportunity. The president called me, and I said yes, I’ll be there tomorrow. It was a really quick deal”.
For Kalinić, whose last appearance for Aston Villa came on February 6th 2019, this was an opportunity to get back onto the pitch, which he needs ahead of the summer and the 2020 Euros.
He continued: “Of course. I’ve been in the national team for seven or eight years now. I didn’t want to sit on the bench hoping it would come. Toulouse gave me the opportunity to play football again”.
He’ll now be hoping to impress Zlatko Dalić in the coming months ahead of the tournament set to be played in 12 cities in 12 different countries.
