Arkadiusz Milik is amazed by “fanatical” Napoli supporters and tries not to feel the pressure of being the most expensive ever Polish player.
The striker left Ajax this summer for €32m and has filled the boots of Gonzalo Higuain.
“Signing the contract was certainly a special moment, because I was signing for a big club,” he told UEFA.com.
Arkadiusz Milik is amazed by “fanatical” Napoli supporters and tries not to feel the pressure of being the most expensive ever Polish player.
The striker left Ajax this summer for €32m and has filled the boots of Gonzalo Higuain.
“Signing the contract was certainly a special moment, because I was signing for a big club,” he told UEFA.com.
“So it was a big reason to be proud. I was delighted to move to an even bigger club than I'd been at previously, a club where I can continue developing, play in the Champions League and fight for the big prizes.
“I'm the kind of person who tries to settle in as soon as possible. It certainly helps that there are other Poles playing here – Igor [Łasicki] and Piotr [Zieliński] help me with the language.
“The fans are also very important – they're fanatical and it's hard to walk through the city centre without a photo or an autograph. You can see how fanatical they are, football means the world to many of them.
“I took my baby steps in Poland [at Rozwój Katowice and Górnik Zabrze], and I met coach Adam Nawałka [at Zabrze] who helped me a lot. As we all know, he's the Poland manager now. He’s a fantastic person who taught me a lot.
“Then I moved to Germany where I learned some hard lessons. It might have looked like a great transfer, but I didn't play as many minutes as I really wanted to, particularly at Leverkusen. Of course, [on loan] at Augsburg I played more, I got more minutes as well as whole matches, but it wasn't what I wanted so I decided to take another step.
“Ajax became interested in me and I decided to develop further there. I knew I could become an even better player learning from a striker like Dennis Bergkamp. So I did my best to move forward and take another step in my career.
“I joined Ajax, played two seasons there, made more appearances for the national team and gained more experience on the European and international stages.
“And then Napoli became interested in me after Euro 2016. My career has moved quickly, but that makes me happy. I'm at Napoli and I'll do my best to learn even more.”
The transfer fee made Milik the most expensive Polish player in history. Has that added to the pressure?
“It doesn't matter. The way you play every day, the training sessions, the matches every three days – that's what shows who you are.
“If you play great one day, you need to prove it again three days later, otherwise people quickly forget about it. You can score two goals in one match, but three days later you can play badly.
“You need to keep proving yourself in football, keep proving you're a good player. Even if you play badly once, that doesn't mean you're going to play badly three days later – it could be the best match of your life. Anything is possible. I know that and I always try to move forward. I always try to do my best on the pitch.”