Nathan Tella has reflected on his surprising move to Bayer Leverkusen, his initial apprehension and the resolve that ultimately drove him to embrace the challenge of playing abroad.
The 25-year-old engaged in discussions with Burnley regarding a permanent transfer to Turf Moor after his successful loan stint from Southampton, where he scored 17 goals across all competitions, contributing significantly to Vincent Kompany’s team as they clinched the Championship title in the 2022/23 season.
With Burnley unable to reach an agreement with Southampton for the Nigeria winger, Tella chose to join Bayer Leverkusen when the German club expressed interest.
This decision has proven to be highly rewarding, as Tella played a crucial role in Leverkusen’s historic achievement of winning their first Bundesliga title and their first major silverware in 21 years, breaking Bayern Munich’s long-standing dominance.
Nathan Tella's initial challenges and adapting to life at Bayer Leverkusen
In a YouTube interview with Rising Ballers, Nathan Tella said, “To be honest I thought I was going back to Burnley.
“But then the Leverkusen interest came in and I was kind of like ‘I don’t know how that interest came about, but I don’t really want to be scared to leave England’. I told myself, ‘I want to do this.'
“I was able to go to Germany. At the start it was quite hard for me because it was a new language and a new culture, so at the start I was asking myself how did I get here? Why am I here? And how much am I going to play? They were the three main factors in my head.
“But speaking to the players and the manager about how I’ll fit into the team and how we’ll play, once I understood what he wanted to do I adapted and adjusted to living abroad.”
Nathan Tella scored six goals and provided three assists in 39 appearances during his debut season in Germany.
