Chong flattered with comparisons to Dutch legend

After an eye-catching pre-season, the 20-year-old scored a superb solo goal in the DFB-Pokal first-round win over Carl Jeiss Zena. It helped earned him a Bundesliga bow as he started the defeat to Hertha Berlin at the weekend.

As he settles in to his new surroundings, Chong spoke to Bundesliga.com about his ambitions and was asked about being called the 'Curacao Arjen Robben' after being born on the Caribbean island.

“I think it’s a big honour," he replied. "Obviously, Arjen Robben is a big, big player. When I used to be small, I used to look up to him and liked his game.

“I think I’ve mentioned before, the players that I used to look up to were Arjen Robben, Ryan Giggs and Lionel Messi. So, to have that honour is big but I have got massive, massive steps to take before I can get to that level.

“From my side, it’s something you look forward to, keep developing as a player. But, like I said, I have loads of steps to take in my development to finally get there. But Arjen Robben was one of the best wingers in his time, in his prime. So, for me there is a long way to go. But obviously honoured as a player to have that mention.”

 

Weekly Chongtent 😅@werderbremen #Werder pic.twitter.com/T1UtQZKOLI

— Tahith Chong (@TahithC) September 16, 2020

The youngster is hoping to make a real impression this season and benefit from regular first-team football, but his chief focus is on Werder's overall performance.

"I think, most of the time, I like to speak as a team, rather than just myself," he explained. "I think as a team, this year we want to perform well, do the best we can and try to win games.

“As a footballer, once you step on the pitch, you want to win every game you play in. But, like I said, as a team, we just want to improve this year and keep improving game by game. Like I said, we will just look at it game by game and try to do our best in those games.

“Every season is a different season. Once I had spoken to the coach and the players here, you get a feeling for the club. You don’t think about what happened last season. You just want to improve this year and enjoy the football.

“Once your team-mates help you off the pitch, it makes it easier, on the pitch, to play your game, help the team and play as a team. Off the pitch, like I said, they helped me settle in. Everyone came to speak to me straight away, which helped massively on the pitch.

“I think my best buddy, up until now, has been Felix [Agu]. I think, the first day I came in, I was in the room with him also. Kind of the same age as me, so same taste and everything. Watching the same things, same music taste. I think we clicked straight away, which again made it easier.”

Weekly #Chongtent 💚

Tahith is playing them off the park in training 😂#werder pic.twitter.com/pyfQtCQgh4

— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) September 18, 2020

Werder's second Bundesliga fixture of the new season is away to Schalke at Saturday teatime, with Chongy hoping to keep his place in the starting line-up.

The new season is here! Our 2020/21 home, away and third kits are available now from United Direct.