‘Eye-opening’ – Player admits he lost confidence when he joined Tottenham
Former Tottenham defender DeAndre Yedlin has admitted he struggled to adapt to the level of the Premier League after joining the club and subsequently lost confidence.
Spurs acquired Yedlin from MLS side Seattle Sounders in 2015, but the USA international failed to make an impact during his short time in North London.
The right-back was limited for game time under then manager Mauricio Pochettino in his first year at the club before being loaned out to Sunderland for the following campaign.
The next season, Spurs made the decision to offload Yedlin permanently to Newcastle, where he enjoyed his best stint in England, having made just one first-team appearance for the Lilywhites(Transfermarkt).
The 28-year-old, now back in the United States at Inter Miami, has revealed his time at Spurs was an ‘eye-opening’ experience where his confidence took a hit after having trouble dealing with the quality around him.
Yedlin told the 433: The Home of Football podcast: “The first month I was there it was really eye-opening to see the level.
“I think at that point I lost my confidence a little bit, thinking that I wasn’t at that level. That kept going through my head and that was the foundation of a lot of the struggles I had there.
“Soon after that, I recognised that a big problem of mine was the mental side of the game. I hadn’t struggled before, but when I got there I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is a shame that Yedlin never managed to break through at Tottenham as he demonstrated a lot of good qualities before the club signed him.
But it isn’t too surprising that a player from MLS had some trouble adapting to the quality of the English football as there is such a gulf in class between both leagues.
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