Kelly: Let’s attempt to get to know you a bit bit extra away from the pitch. Firstly, I all the time like asking: what have been you want as a teenager?
Nathan: When you requested my mam or dad, they’d say I used to be a headcase! I used to be only a bit itchy, I all the time needed to transfer. I might by no means sit nonetheless and chill out. I all the time needed to do one thing. So that they needed to burn me out. I all the time wished to be within the grass or enjoying soccer, simply operating round to empty my power. I believe I used to be onerous work for my dad and mom, I would say it like that!
Kelly: It appears like possibly it was fairly a chaotic family. What number of siblings have you ever acquired?
Nathan: I’ve acquired an older brother, a youthful sister and a youthful brother. I believe it was only a fixed battle of me making an attempt to beat my older brother. It was simply so onerous as a result of the age distinction. All of us had coaching at completely different occasions and so they’d be operating out of the home and also you’d neglect your boots or they’d be taking two automobiles in several instructions. It was a little bit of a carnage, however you would not have it every other means.
Kelly: Are you continue to shut now?
Nathan: Ah yeah, after all. I speak to them kind of on daily basis on the cellphone. Each likelihood I get to go dwelling I’ll. My mam goes to each recreation – dwelling and away. She watches all of them.
Kelly: So she flies over? Are they nonetheless in Eire?
Nathan: Yeah, they stay in Eire, so she flies over and he or she goes in all places to be honest.
Kelly: House and away?
Nathan: Yeah.
Kelly: That’s some dedication!
Nathan: I do know, I inform her, ‘pay attention, you do not have to’ and he or she’s like, ‘no, I wish to’.
Kelly: Not everybody’s acquired a son that is a Premier League footballer although… I form of get the attraction!
Nathan: Yeah, I do not suppose that she watches the matches. I believe that she simply seems to be at me the entire recreation and sees what I am doing. She’ll come after, ‘Why have been you scratching your leg a lot within the match?’ … ‘I do not know. How are you aware that?’
Kelly: Aw, bless her, that is actually candy. How would your greatest good friend describe you?
Nathan: I would prefer to suppose that they’d describe me as the identical lad I used to be rising up. The very first thing that may pop of their head… they would not say I am a footballer. I believe they’d simply say, ‘ah Nathan, he is only a good lad like… he is a little bit of craic and he comes out when he can’ … however I do not suppose that they’d have a look at me as a footballer, which I actually get pleasure from. And it simply means once I’m with them, I can simply be myself and simply get pleasure from being one of many lads.
Kelly: So if the supervisor offers you a break day, what would you do?
Nathan: It relies upon. If it is a weekday and it is good climate, I will play golf with just a few of the lads right here and we’ll get out within the solar.
Kelly: Are you any good?
Nathan: I am all proper. Pay attention, I can play. I am not the best, however I am not the worst.
Kelly: Who do you play with right here?
Nathan: The group proper now could be me, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kris Ajer, Hakon Valdimarsson. It is a good crew as a result of we now have a number of gamers and we do some Ryder Cup-style.
Kelly: Oh good!
Nathan: So it is employees v gamers.
Kelly: Wow!
Nathan: Yeah, as a result of there’s a number of gamers. We did that final 12 months. We did 18 holes within the morning, we went for some lunch, after which we did 18 holes within the afternoon and it was actually good enjoyable. Gamers received, so thank God!
Kelly: Oh, that was my subsequent query. Have you ever acquired any secret hobbies?
Nathan: I like cooking, in order that’s one thing. Once I cook dinner, I believe I simply neglect about all the things. I am simply in my very own little zone and my head form of goes quiet, which is good.
Kelly: Are you an excellent cook dinner?
Nathan: It relies upon who you ask…
Kelly: If I used to be asking your girlfriend…
Nathan: Yeah, she’s truly saying: ‘Ah, you are getting higher at cooking!’
Kelly: That is a bit patronising!
Nathan: Yeah, and I used to be like… ‘Does that imply I used to be dangerous?’
Kelly: Honest sufficient. What do individuals get mistaken about you essentially the most?
Nathan: Possibly I get a little bit of stereotypical: ‘Ah, he is only a footballer.’ Possibly they get that after which suppose, ‘oh, he is truly fairly good to speak to… he is all proper… he is form of relaxed… he is chill’.
I all the time wish to be only a good individual as properly. That is essential for me, simply to be a pleasant individual, an excellent individual, a caring individual. As a lot as I wish to be the perfect footballer I can ever be, I additionally wish to be the perfect individual I may be and I believe that is one thing that I all the time attempt in the direction of as properly.
Kelly: What is the hardest second of your profession been? Has there been a tricky second?
Nathan: I had one recreation for Brentford in opposition to Wolves and I had two errors within the recreation. I gave away two objectives, we misplaced 3-1 or one thing like that and I acquired battered off the Wolves followers as a result of I would just left Wolves and the followers had a lot to go in opposition to me, a lot stick. I used to be like, ‘oh my God, this could not have gotten any worse’.
To be honest, that night time Thomas Frank rang me and he was like, ‘pay attention Nathan, that is in all probability the worst recreation you will ever have in your profession’, and he is like, ‘so it is solely up from right here’.
