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00:12No, I wasn't obsessed at the start, no. I would go to a load of the sessions and just enjoy
00:17the
00:17cat and mouse games and tag and these kind of things and whenever the football started I'd
00:22just be completely disinterested and then out of nowhere really I just got that bug for it.
00:26You know I went to watch my dad quite a lot, me and my mum, my brother went to watch
00:30my dad pretty much every weekend and
00:32out of nowhere I just started loving it and really when I got that feeling it was like too far
00:37to come back and then I was obsessed.
00:39It's mad now to think if someone took football away from me now I think I'd go mad so I'd
00:44go to these sessions and just pick grass and pick flowers and
00:47I'd make little daisy chains and give them to my mum on the side and stuff like that so yeah
00:51it's just the way I was and the best thing about it and probably the reason why I ended up
00:55getting involved with football eventually was because my parents never put pressure on me. My dad kept
01:00bringing me but almost said you know if you don't want if you want to play the tag games play
01:04the tag
01:04games and go and pick flowers you know. Freedom is something that I had in my childhood and my parents
01:09never forced me into doing anything as long as I was a good lad took care of other people then
01:13really my the world was my canvas I suppose and they still remind me of that today. Yeah I remember
01:18to be
01:19fair me and my mum used to sit in and watch a lot of films and I suppose from a
01:23cultural perspective
01:23I take a lot from my mum in terms of music films fashion a little bit and then with my
01:29with my dad
01:29it's probably more the football side where he'd go and he'd go to his football when he would play on
01:34a
01:35on a Saturday or Sunday for his non-league teams and you get that really raw emotion from those games
01:39and that's what kind of made me fall in love with the passion of it but I think I had
01:42a really good
01:43balance of the the relationship with my mum and my dad and it's kind of merged really nicely to to
01:48build
01:48what I am now. Yeah it's crucial crucial I think a lot of lads my age and a little bit
01:53younger than
01:53me and in the situations that I've been in in my career in terms of breaking through into a team
01:57in a championship and then going abroad you know they sign with agents and they don't really have
02:02their best interests at heart and it's never something that I've ever thought about really
02:06because I've always had my parents there to bounce ideas off I know that they genuinely care about
02:11my well-being they know our dreams are all aligned basically you know when you get agents involved
02:17there's their own you know incentives to create money and stuff like that and for me it's never
02:21about that so I was always just wanting to keep the the family atmosphere and you know it gives us
02:26another conversation at the dinner table you know it's it goes from us talking about a film or
02:31something that happened to oh yeah by the way Real Madrid are interested so we've had some good some
02:35good dinner discussions yeah. My love of football comes from competition to be honest you know I've always been
02:41so competitive even those tag games that I'd play and you know if I was picking flowers I wanted to
02:45pick the best ones or if it was playing tag I'd want to be the fastest one so yeah that's
02:49where
02:50it comes from you get really competitive and then football is the next best thing for competition so
02:54growing up I had a lot of problems like especially when I'd lose I'd be a nightmare I wouldn't want
02:58to
02:59shake people's hands and stuff and obviously I learned the hard way that you know you have to
03:03always show that kind of respect but definitely the competition is what drove me into to loving the game
03:08100 percent. My dream was always to play for England really you know I think it's always difficult to
03:12say what what clubs you want to play for and stuff but I always knew that I wanted to play
03:16for England
03:17and definitely Birmingham and growing up that was one of my goals really I just wanted to play game
03:22by game day by day loads of football and didn't really matter where I was going to play like if
03:26someone had said to me then that I'd spend three years in Germany then go to Spain and never play
03:31in
03:31the Premier League or whatever then I'd be like shocked you know so yeah it's for me it's just going
03:36with the flow
03:37really you know my dad was the biggest one I remember playing and obviously I was um playing
03:41obviously in England so I had like players I admired at Birmingham there was like Craig Gardner there was
03:47um a cup winning team while I was coming up um they won the Carlin Cup at Wembley so I'd
03:51probably say
03:52all that team were kind of like my heroes you know really um Seb Larsen, Craig Gardner you know Lee
03:58Bowie
03:58was one of them I suppose and in that that that cup winning team but then as I kind of
04:02got into it more
04:02myself I think the first ones were like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard just because they were playing
04:07in England and then you know as you get older you start to look back at the game and you
04:10look at
04:11YouTube and you know my dad said oh well if you like them have a look at Zidane he or
04:14my dad always
04:15used to have this Zidane shirt it's like the ones you can get at like the beach you know but
04:18he always
04:19kind of wore it like um to do a run or around the house at times and um and I
04:23was thinking who's that
04:24guy who's this Zidane 5 and yeah he said go on go and get on YouTube and have a look
04:28at some of his clips
04:28and since then I've probably not stopped and yeah someone that probably represents how I'd want to
04:33play the game in an ideal world he's just um a beautiful footballer and I was lucky enough to
04:38meet him as well at one of the Champions League finals so that was a really really nice moment
04:44yeah I mean there wasn't really much else available probably looking back I was interested in 22
04:49looked at the other kind of midfield numbers and yeah there was a Vallejo who had five and
04:55and they asked the question and I said yeah it would would be nice if it's okay with him but
04:59yeah it's definitely a kind of homage but at the same time it's almost like taking it and
05:03molding it into how I want it to look now as like the modern day Real Madrid number five it's
05:07definitely
05:08a homage to him but also I'm on my own journey to wanting to try and be as best a
05:12player as possible
05:13oh to be fair he's he's on a really good way but I'd say I'm just edging it at the
05:19minute but
05:19I think you know he's got a lot of time and I think he'll be a really special player tomorrow
05:23yeah that's
05:24the one I'm worried about to be fair but hopefully um we can play together at some point that would
05:28be a dream come true especially for England or something at Wembley or at a major tournament
05:32that would be really special that was a really interesting one I think first coming in you have
05:36to mature very quickly you know you can't have the same kind of childish characteristics that you
05:41have in the academy because if you show any kind of lack of responsibility or if you can't be trusted
05:46by a coach you know that's their their job on the line essentially and same with your teammates if
05:50you're in a team that performs badly and you're not helping your teammates to play well they're
05:55going to lose their livelihood and they're not going to be able to play at that level and in
05:58the championship especially it's a different kind of ball game you know for example you get relegated
06:02and things can massively change financial point of view for players so you know you really don't want
06:06to let them down and you have to learn very quickly I think it's adjusting to that period where
06:11you've come up as like a big talent and then actually getting in the team there's a gap between
06:16there that's a little bit awkward when you're not quite in the team but you're not out and with
06:21the youth team you know you're like a first team player but you're not playing I think that's difficult
06:25because it's proved to the coach that you're good enough to play without playing so you have to kind
06:30of really in the gym you have to really put the work in to make your body that can compete
06:33in the
06:34championship and then from a training perspective you have to be on it every single day you have one
06:38bad session and the coach is almost looking at you like you're not ready and you have to be ready
06:42to
06:42take a chance I think my the biggest thing I'll always tell people is your opportunity you can
06:46come at any moment at the drop of a hat and you can complain about oh it's not coming or
06:50it's not
06:51my this or people don't like me but when you get that opportunity you have to be ready to go
06:55I don't think I'm arrogant but I am confident in my own ability I'm confident in the people that I
07:00have around me my teammates and the staff my family I know that I'll always have that support
07:04system even when times aren't going well but I also know that I can I can do good things on
07:09a football
07:09pitch and you know if I'm free then I can really express that I think when you start playing with
07:13doubt and worry that's when you start to kind of lose the things that make you special for any
07:18player you know and I try not to think too much about what if in a negative way I more
07:23think what
07:23if in the maximum positive way yeah well I remember finding out one day before the world found out and
07:29we had a little bit of a farewell dinner kind of thing where my jersey got put up in the
07:35stadium and
07:36I remember them saying yeah no one's going to wear it again until you come back to Birmingham
07:40I was like really and I was almost looking around like have we given permission for that I didn't
07:45I'm not sure if I like that kind of pressure but in the end I understand the decision from
07:50Dong and from the people at the club because it was a transfer that ultimately saved the club
07:54financially they were in a really tough situation and it was like 25 million pounds that essentially
08:00stopped the club from from not existing so it's not a case of I performed so well that no one
08:05you know look I had a good year but it wasn't something out of this world and I'll definitely
08:10something that I'm a look forward to maybe going back one day and you know I have so many good
08:14memories of from Birmingham a little bit yeah I think the truth is I've never really been someone
08:19to be starstruck or like in awe of people but when you come here with the things that they've
08:24achieved it's it's hard not to feel like wow this is like the pinnacle of football so I think for
08:29the first few weeks when I was getting to know everyone it was still a little bit like wow I'm
08:32sitting having dinner next to Tony Cruz like what's he eating and is he eating gold over
08:37there or something and over time you get used to it and you just realize they're normal guys and
08:41I think the thing that helps to get so comfortable with them is that they're so humble you know and
08:46I think it's a great lesson for me that no matter how well you think you're doing or how well
08:50or what
08:51you've won you can still be a great human being like those guys and I think it's funny because the
08:55lower you sometimes go down in football the level of some of the players that you meet almost the more
08:59arrogant they are and the more kind of out of touch they are and it takes 10 minutes with those
09:04guys
09:04to realize actually no they've got it all wrong and they're the ones that you need to aspire to be
09:09like as players but also as people it's like something you can't describe really it's a dream
09:14come true you know the kit itself is just so famous when you have it on it almost feels like
09:18a super suit
09:19you know you've got it on and for me the word that comes to mind is like privilege because not
09:24many
09:24players get to play for Real Madrid especially you have to have a certain level of quality to be
09:29able to wear that shirt so to be given that trust in week out to wear the shirt feels feels
09:33so good
09:34it's um it's a real honor I think I've always saw being different as like someone who can do everything
09:40I think the game now especially the modern games come become so specific you know like players can
09:45play left but they can't play right or they can play as a 10 but only a 10 I always
09:49felt like
09:50different for me is someone who could see his name on a team sheet and he could be playing four
09:54different positions I've always loved athletes in other sports who could for example like in
09:58basketball who could dunk the ball and then go back and defend and then make passes and dribble
10:03the ball really well I've always admired sports people that could do everything and for me that's
10:07what makes players different and special I think the way I approach the game mentally as well is
10:12quite different to kids my age and I think that's due to again probably the exposure I've had in
10:16those kind of pressure situations you know at 20 years old I've played a world cup I've played in
10:20champions league knockout games and I've been very fortunate to have those those experiences and they
10:25they mold the way that you think about the game but also you know coming through the academy I've
10:29always been the the guy that players look to in in those situations and that's a real pleasure within
10:35your team that they trust you to have that hold that pressure you know and yeah that definitely has
10:39molded me mentally definitely I think the main thing is you've got to really throw yourself into it you
10:45can't dip a toe or you know dip a finger and see oh I don't really like this and you
10:50have to go in
10:50with absolutely zero doubt I remember when I went to Dortmund there was a few other clubs that I could
10:55have gone to but as soon as I signed I was said we spoke didn't we with the family about
11:00now that
11:00you've made this decision I don't want to hear any talk about any other teams we just throw ourselves
11:04into this completely it's difficult sometimes like throwing yourself into the culture because that means
11:08you have to go out and about and people recognize you and it's a hard time but I do try
11:12and throw myself
11:13into that side of it as much as possible as well and that's always made it a lot easier and
11:17like
11:17I said you know I sound like a broken record but my teammates have always been great in helping me
11:21adapt as well I was saying the other day that I always try and keep a level head through everything
11:26you know I think one thing that my parents always said to me was look there's going to be times
11:30where
11:31people talk about you like that and it's going to feel good but there's going to be times where people
11:35talk about you like that and it's going to feel bad so I think when I'm playing well and I
11:39know I'm
11:40playing well and people are talking about me I always try and stay right there regardless of
11:44whether it's there or there some players get carried away with the loop of football and that's quite
11:49damaging for the mental kind of health if you like and me I try and stay quite neutral through everything
11:54and just try and continue on the path that I'm on you know every day coming in and working hard
11:59I
11:59want to be the the best version of myself I know the best version of myself is enough because I've
12:03proven
12:03it to myself but also yeah you have that mindset of being the best it just it's more enjoyable because
12:08you've got something to aim every day I always say my dad when I talk about football for example is
12:13you want to be able to look back at the player where you were three months ago and like cringe
12:16you know and think I'd kill him you know that version of Jude so that's how I've always felt
12:21about football like you should never be satisfied in the place that you're in right now and should
12:26always try and kick on you know sometimes I can still be a little bit emotional on the pitch I
12:30think
12:30there's managing that side of it as well there's always little tweaks you can make in your game from a
12:35performance point of view my positioning you know defensively like for example last year when I
12:39scored a lot of goals but I almost felt like there was times when the ball would come across and
12:44I
12:44wasn't there and I think I've got to be there two seconds earlier and that's something that I've
12:48changed in my game into this season and now it's put me in the position to score more goals and
12:52be
12:52more effective for the team so it's little things like that where you identify them by watching your
12:56game back and having the help from coaches and I'm always open to that help which which helps a lot
13:00so
13:01yeah I think my default is just kind of knowing that it's not perfect and there's more to work
13:06on you know wow there's been so much honestly a bit cliche but it's all just be yourself really I
13:11never try and act in any way or like feel like I'm performing for someone and whenever I step out
13:18on the pitch or do an interview it's you're speaking directly to me or you're watching me in like the
13:23truest form you know not how I want people to perceive me I think that's probably the biggest one
13:28just always being myself something that I've stood really strongly on you know it's something that
13:32I think maybe people at my age shy away from a little bit because it can be a controversial
13:36topic I did an interview not too long ago where I really got to say how I saw it and
13:41I think for
13:42someone who's experienced it as often as I have I think if I was to open my phone and scroll
13:46long
13:47enough through the messages from the last 24 hours I'd be able to find a handful of messages about it
13:52but there's always a sense of knowing that I've got a thick skin but I'm more raised the awareness
13:57because of how it may affect others you know I saw firsthand what happened with some of the lads at
14:01the Euros when they missed penalties and to be honest that was really hard to see I think it had
14:05a big effect on those lads which was really sad to see mainly for normal people in everyday life
14:10it's something that I want to I now know that I've got a platform where I can influence people and
14:16that's something that I want to continue to be loud and be strong about you know that it's it's not
14:20acceptable you know there was incident with Vinny the other day and I think it's important that if you're a
14:25player from that background you have that influence and you can't stay quiet on a situation like that
14:30and I'll continue to to kind of be loud on that five years hopefully five Champions Leagues or a
14:36European Championship and a World Cup maybe I'm always someone who tries to look at the game as
14:41optimistically as possible for example I don't see the point in playing a game thinking oh we're going
14:46to lose today or we might do well this season but next season I don't know if we'll win I
14:49think you
14:50have to go into every competition every year thinking that you can win it otherwise what's
14:54what's the point you know so it's hard to put an exact number on what titles and how much of
14:58this
14:58how much of that I just prefer to keep performing well in five years if my family's still healthy
15:03and happy that's the most important to me and and yeah to continue performing the way I am because
15:08I know and that I have the confidence that I can do good things thank you thank you very much
15:12guys
15:12pleasure thank you so much brilliant thank you very much
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