A smile is never far from Kian Fitz-Jim’s face when he takes his seat on the burgundy-and-white seats at the Olimpico Grande Torino. The 23-year-old midfielder left Ajax behind this summer to join Torino FC, and the Amsterdam native has made a meteoric start in Serie A. “It was difficult for me to leave Ajax, but I’m now playing in a top-five league.” Fitz-Jim is not only happy with the club, but also with Turin as a place to live. “It’s a big city, but not too busy. I really wanted to end up in a big city, rather than in a small, remote village.” The right-footed player joined from Ajax this summer and is getting plenty of playing time at the Italian club. This season, Fitz-Jim has started in all but one of the seven matches Torino have played. In a very short space of time, the former Ajax player has become a mainstay in midfield in Turin. Fitz-Jim believes that the playing style of Italy’s number fourteen suits him well. “The style of play the manager wants to implement suits me well. I also think I’ve made a good start.” The Amsterdam-born player had to leave his hometown this summer, but he had a clear reason for doing so. “It was difficult to leave Ajax, but I’m now playing in a top-five league, and this is a really great club too. For me, it’s important to have a platform like this to show what I can do. Unfortunately, that opportunity wasn’t there at Ajax.” Fitz-Jim had been under contract with Ajax since 2019 and came through the youth ranks. After seven years playing for Ajax – which resulted in 72 appearances for the first team and 103 for the reserve side – Torino signed him this summer for nearly three million euros. Fitz-Jim feels at home, but still needs to get used to Italian culinary habits. “I’m actually more of a rice eater, but at some point you really do have to start eating pasta here. Drinking coffee is definitely not going to happen; I’m putting that off for a very long time,” laughs the midfielder.   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]