Croatia, Conference League and learning to cook - Former Cherry Adu-Adjei

THERE was some surprise among Cherries fans last summer when Daniel Adu-Adjei departed the club for Rijeka in Croatia.

The young striker had been hugely prolific for the development squad, before featuring – and scoring – in the first team’s pre-season in the United States.

But while some may have expected to see more from Adu-Adjei in the first team this season just gone, or perhaps a loan to the Championship, the 20-year-old headed to mainland Europe and the Croatian top flight.

Adu-Adjei, speaking to the Daily Echo on a video call, explained the thought process behind the move, and discussed his first year with the club, including settling into a new country – and learning to cook.

"Growing up, I never really saw myself moving abroad," he said.

"But obviously it was something that, as soon as I heard about, I was really excited by.

Daniel Adu-Adjei (Image: Richard Crease)

"I spoke to my family, spoke to my friends and got their opinion on it and everyone was sort of like, 'There's no point in turning it down without at least going out there to see the area, see the team, see the training grounds, see all that stuff.'

"So I agreed to do that, went out there with my girlfriend, my family, and the area is really beautiful, it was really nice.

"All the people around the club seemed really friendly.

"One of the things I was most worried about was the language barrier, but everyone seemed to speak English really well and everyone learns it at school when they're growing up, so it was really easy to gel with everyone and then from there I was convinced to come."

Adu-Adjei admitted his Croatian wasn’t great – but that may be a project for next season.

"It's a really tough language to learn," he said.

"I can't even explain how it's just really complicated, but everyone knows enough English to get by.

"There's, I think, eight or nine lads who don't speak any Croatian at all, so we're all quite close, which helps.

Daniel Adu-Adjei (Image: Richard Crease)

"I'm not the only one who goes through that sort of stuff."

The attraction of Rijeka came, in part, down to their place in Europe.

Adu-Adjei’s bow in continental competition came in the Conference League, and he did well, scoring four goals and providing an assist in ten appearances.

"[They] were champions the season before I came, which was obviously really inviting because they still got that winning mentality," he said.

"Playing in Europe was one of the things that I've always wanted to do in my career, so that drew me a lot to come.

"And the possibility for consistent first team minutes was something that I was really looking for as well."

He added: "The whole team did well to have got through the group stage, which is what our initial aim was.

"That was huge for us.

AFCB development squad vs Sheffield United (Image: ROBIN JONES)

"For the whole team to have got 10 games in European competition was massive.

"So I was happy to get the goals I did and to have helped the team.

"But yeah, it was a great feeling to play in all those games."

Asked how football in Croatia compares to what he has experienced previously, Adu-Adjei said: "Obviously, the comparison to under-21 football, it's obviously faster, more aggressive and physical.

"When I compare it to, say, when I went on loan in League Two or League One, it's slightly less physical, a bit more tactical.

"So it's got a nice in-between of both of them. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to, obviously, a new system and things like that, and new players to get used to.

"But at the end of the day, it's all football, isn't it? So, it wasn't too difficult gelling and transitioning into that.

"But I think it is definitely obviously a step up from 21s, which is what I was looking for, and more physical.

Daniel Adu-Adjei (Image: Richard Crease)

"And obviously you've got the fans and three points meaning a lot more than academy football, so I'm really enjoying it."

Adu-Adjei said his family and girlfriend had really helped him to adapt to his new surroundings, and his teammates had been welcoming.

He has enjoyed living in Rijeka, and living on his own has allowed him to develop his cooking skills.

"I've just been trying to improve on my cooking, which before coming here wasn't the best, but my girlfriend's helped to teach me a few recipes and obviously looking online and stuff like that to try and get used to it," he said.

"I tried going to the cinema recently as well for the first time to watch that new Michael movie.

"I didn't know how it'd be in a new country, but it was all in English, it was just subtitles in Croatian, so that was fun, so I'll try to do that a bit more because that's something that I enjoy."

His signature dish? A pulled chicken burger, but he is also across the basics like bolognese, chicken and rice.

Looking ahead, Adu-Adjei wants to represent Ghana and continue to progress in his club career.

"Obviously I want to try and reach as high as I can in terms of clubs, so looking to whenever that next step is, or just trying to progress as a player as a whole," he said.

"One of my main aims is to play for Ghana one day, obviously, and they're doing really well at the moment.

"Obviously, they've qualified for the World Cup, and they've got a really good squad.

"So hopefully to one day be able to represent them, and then looking into next season, again, hopefully do well in the league and get as far as we can, hopefully qualify for the Conference League and then get as far as we can in that.

"So just looking to keep improving and keep progressing."

Adu-Adjei has a connection in the Ghana squad in the form of former Cherries forward Antoine Semenyo.

He said: "When I was back at Bournemouth, we spoke about it quite a bit and he just spoke about how much of an honour it is and how much he enjoys going back and playing for Ghana.

"So I'm hoping to get that experience one day."