Nils Zätterström 'absolutely open' to Sheffield United exit after loan move to Genoa
Sheffield United defender Nils Zätterström has revealed he is open to staying at loan club Genoa.
The 20-year-old only arrived at Bramall Lane last summer, making the move from Malmö FF in his native Sweden for a reported £2.8m.
However, he did not manage to make a single senior appearance for the Blades before being loaned to Genoa in January.
The deal that took him to Serie A includes a buy option and Zätterström is open to staying in Italy, despite having only made one Serie A appearance.
Sheffield United’s Nils Zätterström on his future
He told Fotbollskanalen: “As it feels now, I'm absolutely open to staying in Genoa. We'll see, there are eight games left and then the summer window comes. But I'm open to it.”
Zätterström, who has been capped by Sweden at senior level, was signed during the brief tenure of Ruben Selles as Blades boss.
The defender has claimed Selles’ replacement, Chris Wilder, has a “different idea of the game”.
He said: “The coach who brought me there was fired early. The new coach had a different idea of the game and different players he believed in, so I was often in the stands there.
“Now it's a completely different feeling when you're both around the games but also have a completely different communication with your coach.”
England and Italy contrast
Zätterström has also lifted the lid on the differences between the English and Italian games.
He said: “If you compare it to English football, there is much more rhythm in the game in Italy. Sometimes you let the opponent have the ball and you only defend areas that are dangerous and when you have the ball yourself, the opponents do the same thing.
“I think as a defender it's easier to play there, because the whole team is so structured and tactical. There's a lot of focus on tactics, especially in the defensive game.”