Gedson's language lessons

Since making the switch from Lisbon to London back in January, an impressive command of languages has certainly proved a considerable help for young midfielder Gedson Fernandes.

Any move to a new country can undoubtedly be a difficult one yet, for Gedson, some of the challenges of such a change have been eased, thanks to his strong grasp of both the Portuguese and English languages.

Born on the Portuguese-speaking island of Sao Tome and Principe, and having spent his formative years in Benfica's academy, the 21-year-old is naturally fluent in his mother tongue but was also taught English to a very high standard.

And that education has helped, first when his parents moved to London a few years ago, and even more so now as he settles into the squad, led of course by a coaching team with Portuguese roots. However, as he’s found out among his new team-mates, various speeds and intonations of the English accent can cause a bit of confusion...

“The coaches speaking my language is good for me and that’s one more thing that helps me,” our number 30 explained in a recent issue of our official matchday programme. “When we need to analyse something, they can help me.

“Portuguese is so different to English though... it’s a little harder to learn because of the accents.

“For me, speaking English in England compared to speaking English in Portugal is very different. The accents... normally English people speak English very quickly. It’s the same though if English people went to Portugal and spoke Portuguese. My people speak Portuguese very quickly, use different words and accents. It’s a hard language. You can’t swap or miss a word.

“For example, if Eric Dier speaks to me in English (Eric spent a decade living and being schooled in Portugal), I find it easier to understand than when he has a conversation with someone from England - they speak so quickly!

“I’ve made good friends here already though, I’ve got good team-mates and I’m enjoying it in the dressing room.”