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Stengs: "A huge step for me"
Calvin Stengs spoke to the press on Tuesday during the presentation of the club's latest recruits. The Dutch winger discussed his arrival on the Côte d'Azur and the role he intends to play at OGC Nice.
"I am a right winger who loves attacking and playing inside" explained Stengs as he defined himself as a player, having already appeared against Kiev (2-1) and Union Berlin (0-2) in pre-season friendlies. "The 4-4-2 system with Youcef Atal behind me is one that I really like. I am someone who loves to cut into the middle. He likes to stick wide and overlap, so it really suits me. I will play my game, the coach told me that he wants us to play attacking football and that's the most important thing for me."
One of Justin Kluivert's teammates in the Euro U21s at the start of the summer ("I wasn't aware that he would be coming to Nice too"), Stengs is delighted to take the next step in his career in signing for OGC Nice. In Ligue 1, the "Oranje" international (7 caps) will begin his first experience away from the Netherlands: "It's a huge step for me, it may well be difficult but it was also the right time to leave AZ Alkmaar for my development and to become a better player. The project in Nice is a really interesting one and really suits me. I spoke a lot with the coach and with Julien Fournie who both described the club's ambitions and that's the most important thing for me. I can develop as a player and help this team."
Julien Fournier: "A real coincidence to have several Dutch signings"
Julien Fournier, Director of Football: "Calvin is a player that we have been watching for several seasons. Our first contact was two and a half years ago. We spoke back then about the possibility of him coming to Nice and it wasn't possible to make it happen. It remained in a corner of his head, I think, and in ours too. That's why the signing was able to happen this summer. It's a real coincidence to have several Dutch signings. Above all, we are looking for quality players. Within the Dutch U21s, there are a lot that meet the criteria for what we want to do. So very honestly, it's a real coincidence, rather than something that we were looking to do from our side. But it has it's advantages, as they are players that know each other well."