WE ARE FAMALI

Tymon thriving in his new life in Portugal

Neil Moxley

JOSH TYMON is having a whale of a time in Portugal – but octopus and rabbit are off the menu for this young Englishman abroad.

The Stoke City full-back has swapped life in the Potteries for a season on loan with newly promoted minnows Famalicao.

And it’s all going swimmingly, as his current club are leading the Portuguese Liga after a storming start to the season, with the giants of Benfica, Porto and Sporting all trailing in their wake.

Tymon, 20, has taken the bold gamble of seeking to kick-start his career with a move abroad, following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, 19, who has lit up the Bundesliga since leaving Manchester City behind in 2017.

And, ahead of the game with neighbours Porto today, Tymon is determined to taste similar success – although he hasn’t quite got to grips just yet with the local cuisine.

Relationship

Tymon said: “My old assistant manager at Hull, Joao Pedro Sousa – who worked with Marco Silva – messaged me saying he had got the manager’s job at Famalicao.

“I didn’t know where it was, to be honest, but I had a good relationship with him and he told me about the club, how it had got into the top league and what they were trying to do.

I wasn’t getting many minutes i d during i pre-season at Stoke k so when the opportunity presented itself I bit the bullet and got myself over here.

“Obviously, I’d looked at Jadon – who I played with at junior levels for England – and seen that he had taken what looked to be a wild decision to quit for Dortmund. But it has paid off for him.

“I felt that a clean break would help me with my confidence and help me focus purely on my career, because I’m on my own.

Intense

“And it’s gone well so far – it’s helped that until last week it’s been really warm.

“I didn’t think it would be as intense here. But it is. And I’ve not seen a long ball in all the time I’ve been here, either.

“You’ve got to be able to get it down and play. It’s just been a great experience so far.”

Tymon lived in a hotel for the first four weeks, while he got to grips off the pitch with playing for a team that was very much an unknown quantity, promoted to the top flight for the first time in 25 years.

He said: “It’s been good to test myself out of my comfort zone and get myself back to where I want to be.

“It’s not been easy but there’s a few of the staff who speak English and I’m getting along with the help of Google Translate.

“I’m picking up bits and pieces of the language. It’s very different in the north of the country to how it is in the south – on the Algarve a lot of people are happy to talk in English, but up here it’s all Portuguese.

“One of the lads, Ruben Lameiras, played in England and he’s keeping me up-to-date with what’s going on in the press, and apart from a small hiccup with the food it’s all been good.

“We were away on pre-season and

I didn’t quite understand what was on the menu.

“One of the coaches explained it was rabbit – he said it tasted like chicken – and I had some... but I won’t be rushing to try it again.

“There’s also octopus. They sell it in all the supermarkets, it’s really popular over here. But I’ve not tried that yet.

Delicacy

“But the real local delicacy is a pastry, like a custard tart. I’ve treated myself to a few of those.”

Famalicao have strong ownership ties with Atletico Madrid, and Tymon says t hat his new club’s storming start to the campaign is no fluke.

He added: “We have got a really young squad and the players have all bought into what the manager wants.

“It’s difficult to say what will happen to the team or me – but I’ve not regretted coming over here for one minute.”