Tuesday morning. Florian Kohfeldt makes his way early in the morning to Bremen airport. There, the SV Werder head coach boards a small chartered flight to Manchester, where he is brought together with Davy Klaassen, a player the Green-Whites are intent on signing.
Tuesday, midday. Kohfeldt and Klaassen sit together and exchange views for a while. “We spent three hours discussing everything,” revealed the 25-year-old. “We spoke about the city, the club and the way we play want to play football.” The ice is quickly broken as both “are on the same wavelength,” reported the Green-Whites’ new signing, a view shared by the Werder coach: “It was a very friendly conversation.” Above all, as Kohfeldt explained his footballing philosophy in detail, the Dutchman said that “the deciding factor was the way he spoke about the game. He is looking to play attacking and offensive football.”
Tuesday afternoon. Klaassen reflects on his meeting with Kohfeldt. “I came away from the conversation with a good feeling,” he explained. “I told my girlfriend that I was set on going,” although he still wanted “to sleep on it.” That is what he did, before waking up the next morning with the same positive feeling. “I was still convinced. I was certain that I wanted to play for Werder.”
Kohfeldt then flies back to Bremen sharing the same positivity as Klaassen. “I left with the same feeling as before i.e. that this move could suit both of us very well,” said the head coach. Everything then starts to move rapidly. Flaassen flies to Germany on Thursday for a medical and by Friday morning, he was signing and having his photos captured at the Weser-Stadion. Klaassen announced at his first Green-Whites press conference that “I feel very welcome here and am happy to be here.” According to the man himself, his main reason for moving was “the meeting with the coach. He simply showed that he has a lot of trust in me.” Clearly, that short trip to Manchester was worth it.
