Neymar, Scouse accents and Eccy Road: How Pol Valentin settled into life at Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday's Spanish full-back talks with a smile and with infectious enthusiasm about life on and off the pitch at S6, a 27-year-old who has thrown himself into life in the Steel City as any person working in a new culture should. His summer transfer offered a first taste of football outside of Spain and he grinning, he started his first media engagement in England to apologise for his English. He needn't have bothered, with three-hours-per-week lessons by a Sheffield English teacher paying off handsomely.

Landing in the UK at the back end of July, he set about jumping into his new life as quickly as possible, scouring social media for Spaniards to meet who could introduce him to the city. On the evidence of a fun half-hour chat with local reporters, it's not difficult to see how he was able to make pals fairly quickly. He has been spotted at Meadowhall and occasionally on Ecclesall Road, he enjoys a little taste of home while eating tapas at IberiCo on Dyson Street. He has taken trains to away matches he's not been involved in and received the adoration of travelling away fans.

He's enjoying his new life, even if some of the accents in the Owls changing room leave him scratching his head at times.

"The most difficult is Barry when he is angry!" he chuckled. "Cam, Barry, maybe Will (the accents) are crazy. Will talks so fast, I ask him 'Will, maybe talk slower please!' When I arrived I knew a little bit of English because I learned this in school, but wow, meeting the players it was new. I thought, 'This is not English!' I have a friend who worked here for some years and he told me not to worry, we all have to learn this way.

"I am trying to learn English as fast as I can," he continued. "I am doing two or three hours of lessons per week. You need to learn the language of the country to adapt, you need to be able to talk with your teammates, you have to have a life outside of the pitch. If you don't know the language it is difficult to adapt in football and in life.

"I am enjoying Sheffield. I've made friends with two Spanish guys and they've been helping me with my apartment, my social life. It means I can do things outside of football, I have been able to disconnect from football which is important. It's good for me, maybe if I didn't have these guys it could be a little harder and it's been good to find friends with this in common.

"One of them is studying here and the other is working. I found them on social media and wrote to them to ask for help with getting to know the place and now we are good friends. I have enjoyed a Spanish restaurant, it is good and makes me feel at home. I am friends with Jordi Amat who played at Swansea, Pipa who is at West Brom. I asked them both a lot of things about what I needed to do and how to settle into English life and they have helped me a lot."

Wednesday are the seventh club of Valentin's career. Brought in by his former colleague Xisco, the Spaniard overcame a difficult foray into the rough and tumble of English football, battered around by a buoyant Stockport County side on his debut in the Carabao Cup back in August. Such was the mood of the club at the time, many were quick to judge his performances early doors as those of a second tier Spanish player unable to hack the speed of the game on these shores. He doubled-down on gym work, worked overtime at training and despite Xisco's departure has proven himself to be one of the first names on Danny Röhl's teamsheet.

Born in Avinyonet de Puigventós in Catalonia, he's a player who grew up around the requirements needed to make a career out of professional football. His dad Albert was a player reared at Barcelona who went on to enjoy a good career with Figueres in the Spanish second tier, while his older brother Gerard spent time at Sevilla and Deportivo la Coruna, still playing in the second tier with Huesca.

"When I was a kid I saw my dad played football, football, football and I wanted to be the same as my dad," he said. "My brother is four years older and when I was 14 or 15 he played in the best team of my city. I wanted to do the same, these are the things that inspired me. Nobody expected us both to be in professional football but it is crazy, if you saw my brother playing, he is the same player as me. Same speed, style, velocity. He is playing as a winger but he started as a wing-back and people say it is impossible that we are the same player!

"My father tries to help us. But never puts pressure on me or my brother and has always said ‘If you want to be a football player, it’s your decision.’"

Valentin junior will speak to his old man after each game to receive thoughts and advice on the technical attributes that have made him such a prominent player at Wednesday in recent months. He shares the distinction of having been born to a footballer dad with teammates Josh Windass, Bailey Cadamarteri and Dominic Iorfa, though it is off the field that Albert has made more of a splash in the global game. He has worked off the field as a recruitment chief and sporting director for Barcelona, Espanyol and Real Zaragoza, he was Sporting CEO at Marseille and is now working in Qatar as academy manager at Al-Rayyan.

During his time at Barcelona he played an important role in overseeing the megabucks deal that brought Neymar to Europe. "This is what he tells everyone!" Valentin laughed. "I remember my father told me so many years ago he was watching a player in Brazil who was 14 or 15. I remember him travelling to Germany to watch a goalkeeper who could be the best in the world and was so good with his feet, he was just 18 and that was Marc-André ter Stegen. It is cool."

Valentin travelled by train to watch his teammates edged out of a December defeat at Birmingham City, rather underestimating the enthusiasm of the Wednesdayite barmy army and awkwardly finding himself the subject of songs, half-cut cuddles and adulation he had not experienced before.

"I was like 'Oh no'," he said. "I don't like to be the centre of attention. People that know me know I am not like this. The fans are amazing, when you play, when you shoot, when you are close to the box the fans make noise. In Spain we don't have this and this helps a lot."

With every tale and chuckle, it's clear as day that Pol Valentin is thoroughly enjoying the Sheffield Wednesday experience.