Jasper just wants to entertain like Neymar and Hazard

IN his spare time, Sylvester Jasper likes to binge on footage of Neymar and Eden Hazard turning on the style.

Decadently, the Hibs winger enjoys the flair of two of the planet’s most gifted attackers, but he also admires their ability to repeatedly provide the end product to ensure their teams prevail.

While the rise in statistical analysis has made football increasingly a numbers game, Jasper knows the real joy of the sport stems from something more than just a stats sheet that breaks down every touch and step taken.

Signed by Shaun Maloney on loan from Fulham, the 20-year-old sees it as part of his job to entertain.

While there’s nothing performative about the tricks and flicks he utilises to flummox opponents, he does see it as his duty to raise the pulses of the fans.

And while he knows it ultimately won’t matter how Hibs make it to the Scottish Cup semi-finals, it’s that aesthetic that will ensure he demands a little more from himself in today’s quarterfinal against Motherwell.

‘My favourite two players are Neymar and Hazard — I watch all the games they are involved in and learn from them.

‘But nowadays a lot of critics and players will base everything on stats. They won’t watch the game, they will just see this person scored, this person got an assist, but they could have been rubbish in that game.

‘Players like Neymar and Hazard are there to entertain the people who watch them and I feel that is a really important thing.

‘Personally, I wouldn’t be satisfied if I played rubbish but then got a jammy goal. For me, it’s important to play good and also affect the squad and the score.

‘I think it should come naturally. So, I don’t feel players should go out of their way to try to entertain the crowd or do things that aren’t natural to them.

‘I feel like if I go out and do skills, that is just how I play the game but if it also entertains the fans then cool.

‘It’s not the important thing and I’m not going out there thinking I need to entertain. But I just go out there and play my game and do as well as I can for my team, and if entertaining football comes with that then that’s a plus.

‘I wouldn’t be totally happy if I played badly but still got the goal that got us into the semi-finals. I would be happy for the team and happy to be in the semifinals, but I would have to go back and look at my performance to see what I could still do better.

‘You could be giving the ball away, giving up goals, putting your team under pressure, so I do think it is about affecting the game.’

Born to a Nigerian father and Bulgarian mother, London-born Jasper has followed his maternal roots into international football, representing the Bulgarian Under-21s side.

He spent the first half of this season on loan at Colchester and views his move from England’s League Two to the SPFL Premiership as a significant step up.

Having debuted for Fulham in an FA Cup tie against Manchester City, he is no stranger to knock-out football.

So, while he experienced little fall-out from Colchester’s FA Cup exit to Wigan in December, he knows there is an altogether different expectation surrounding today’s tie.

‘With all due respect, Hibernian is a bigger club that Colchester,’ he continued. ‘The stakes are higher here — it’s a quarterfinal that we’re expected to win. That’s the same in every game, we’re expected to get a good result.

‘That suits my mentality — I want to affect the score and play well in every game.

‘I’m not getting the game time given to me, I feel I’ve had to earn it through my performances.

‘I’ve been playing week-in, week-out and I’m enjoying the way I’m playing.

‘I’ve had a few chats with the coaches, trying to pick their brains to see what I can do to score more.

‘I’ve not got that goal yet and the focus is to be ruthless — I’m getting into positions where I can score and if they can start coming, then happy days.’