West Ham star Pablo Fornals has given a great interview about life in east London.
The Spaniard has shone for the Hammers, adding a touch of flair to David Moyes’ side, but he now insists he just likes thinking of himself as a regular ‘cockney boy’.
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It’s clear Fornals has really taken to life in the capital, telling the Evening Standard: “When I arrived it (rhyming slang) was something interesting for me to discover and I’ve tried to learn some. I think if I have any trouble people can work out that I’m a cockney boy!
“The guys aren’t quite teaching me but these are the things that I am always listening to. On the pitch, here with the guys we have a lot of people who work in the club who are from London so it is the way they speak, it is the things I listen to.
“I know some cockney or east London, obviously I’ve got some rhyming slang, ‘apples and pears’ and things like that.”
On his role in the team, he added: “I am a team worker. I don’t want to be a West Ham superstar, not defending and just playing one-vs-one with everyone all the time.
“I want to win and try to learn. My childhood I had to work and try to create a good atmosphere to win games so this is what I am trying to do.”
Fornals added that he used to idolise the big names of Spanish football who made it big in England – the likes of David Silva, Fernando Torres and Santi Cazorla.
As time goes on, Fornals looks like he could end up creating a similar legacy at West Ham.