Amanda Nildén: “The club is building a good project, I’m so happy to be here”
Fri 19 January 2024, 08:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
Nearly four years since she was last playing in England, Amanda Nildén revealed it was a ‘dream’ to return to the FA Women’s Super League.
The 25-year-old Sweden international - who joined us on loan from Serie A side Juventus until the end of the 2023/24 campaign - previously had a spell at fellow WSL side Brighton & Hove Albion, making the move to the South coast in January, 2018, and spent two years at the club, making 26 appearances overall for the Seagulls.
After putting pen to paper on Thursday (18 January) to seal her move back to England, the defender spoke highly of the growth of the game in the country and the project being built at the Club.
“I’m so happy to be here,” Amanda said in her first interview with SPURSPLAY. “The game in England is growing a lot now and it has been a dream to come back here. The Club is building a good project and to be able to be part of that was big for me, so I’m very excited.
“I had a really good conversation with Robert, and from what I have heard, it suits me very well, which makes me excited to get started. I’m looking forward to playing in front of them [supporters] and I will do everything I can to win games.
“It was many years ago,” when looking back at her previous experience in the WSL. “I was young and my first time in another country, so from what I remembered, I learned a lot and I think without that adventure in my career, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Amanda has spent the last two-and-a-half seasons at Juventus, where she was part of the side that won the treble during the 2021/22 campaign – winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Suppercoppa Italia – and has featured on numerous occasions in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Reflecting on her time in Italy, the defender said: “It was very good and a big step for me when I moved there, I learned a lot during my time there. It’s a different type of football, more possession and more technique than I have experienced before. So, I grew a lot in the things I needed to develop.”
She has also represented her nation at senior level, being part of the Sweden squad in the 2022 UEFA European Championships – who were beaten by eventual winners, England, in the semi-finals – and has since made seven appearances to date, and Amanda revealed it was always her ambition to put the jersey on.
“It was, of course, a dream come true,” Amanda said. “Since I started to play football, it was always one of my goals to play for the national team, and to do that, it was a big step in my career. Hopefully I can just keep working and get more of them.”
So, what can we expect from our latest signing?
Describing her style of play, she said: “I’m a left-footed full-back, that can also play more forward. For me, I think my strength is that I’m very attacking on the left-hand side, I like to get crosses in and get the ball forward.”
