On June 10th, Dion De Neve left KV Kortrijk and secured a permanent move to Blackburn Rovers.
The 24-year-old became the English club’s first summer arrival and signed a three-year contract, with an option for another year.
Het Nieuwsblad have interviewed the new Blackburn Rovers signing to discuss his move to Ewood Park and other topics.
The Belgian was impressed with Blackburn Rovers’ media team and the effort put in by them for his presentation.
“I especially remember how much effort the media team put into taking the best possible photos and making the coolest videos and things like that,” he said.
“There was even a Belgian flag hanging there. Because I am quite introverted and modest by nature, smiling for a photo is sometimes quite a task.
“So, they were looking for something that would put a smile on my face. That ended up being the funny pronunciation of ‘American Pancakes’ by my friend Julie. Amerikan Pankeeks, kind of in Flemish.
“One of those guys started saying it with a Russian accent and we were off. If you see me smiling on the Blackburn website, that’s thanks to Julie’s pancakes. Nice moment.”
The Belgian club have been relegated from the top flight and the player says they were initially reluctant to sanction his sale. Kortrijk eventually gave in after the Championship side pushed to secure his services, which has pleased him.
“The first contacts were through the agent of Jeremy Doku and Killian Sardella, who also have good contacts at Blackburn,” De Neve explained.
“Kortrijk initially resisted, so Blackburn really had to push through. Then you feel wanted anyway when the club does something extra.”
The Belgian explained why he wasn’t able to turn down a move to the Championship club.
“Was I able to double my salary? In my case it went up four times, so it was an offer I couldn’t refuse on all fronts,” he added.
“And that villa with a pool? No, it’ll be an apartment in Manchester. Not bad either, because I have a soft spot for City, so on a day off I can go and have a look there too.
“It’s funny that I can see Manchester United’s stadium from my window, Old Trafford. But I’ll take that. [winks] Will I ever play there? Things can move quickly in football, but I’m also realistic. Let me prove something here first. I’m not into floating around.”
De Neve spent three years at Kortrijk and was mainly used as a wing-back and a left-back, managing five goals and seven assists from 82 games. He can also be deployed as a winger.
It’ll be interesting to see how Valérien Ismaël plans to utilise De Neve at Blackburn Rovers next season.