Robin Olsen insists he is at the perfect Club to improve – and wants to convert his loan from AS Roma into a permanent stay with Everton.
Swedish goalkeeper Olsen has made seven appearances since joining from Italy in October.
The 31-year-old played both FA Cup ties last month – and he spoke to Everton’s matchday programme for Wednesday’s fifth-round tie with Tottenham Hotspur.
In a wide-ranging feature interview, Olsen relates how he overcame a huge setback to achieve his Sweden World Cup dream and explains the family circumstances which led to him leaving PAOK Salonika after seven months in Greece.
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Olsen spent last season on loan with Cagliari, where the club’s decision to back the potential of young Italy international Alessio Cragno thwarted the Scandinavian’s hopes of regular action.
He didn’t think twice, however, about grabbing the opportunity to vie with Jordan Pickford, England’s number one keeper, for Everton’s starting jersey.
“I knew I would have the competition with Jordan but I have seen if I train well, I will get my chances and if I play well, I will get more chances,” said Olsen.
“Jordan is a really nice guy and to train with a top goalie makes me much better.
“You should want to improve yourself every day and I feel I am getting better all the time with Everton.
“We have a fantastic goalkeeper group – we can make jokes but when it is time for exercise everyone switches on, it is extremely professional and you need complete focus.
“In Italy, it is more tactical, you need to be in your position and do what the coach is telling you, ‘You pass the ball there, there’.
“Here, the players are so good, they already know what they are doing.
“I knew it would be fast but it is faster than I thought.
“I like it, I am big, there are more duels in England, it fits me.”
Olsen moved to England with wife Mia, daughter Alicia, who is five, and the couple’s two-year-old son, Alexander.
The family instantly settled and, says Olsen, Mia is happier than at any time since her husband completed a move from Greece to Copenhagen in Denmark five years ago.
Olsen made his Premier League debut at Newcastle United four weeks after signing and on his second appearance – against Leicester City in December – kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.
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He was one of the standout performers when Everton resisted a second-half fight back to beat Leeds United at Elland Road last week and – with Pickford sidelined by an abdominal issue – played in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United.
“We want to stay, but it is not me who decides,” said Olsen, who recorded a second shutout when Everton defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 to set up the Tottenham encounter.
“I can only cross my fingers and see what the Club says.
“As a family, we have moved around and feel we are in a good place now.
“We are very happy, so why not stay until it is time to move home to Sweden? That is what we would choose.
“It is easy to say that – but everything needs to be sorted out.”
Read the full interview with Robin Olsen in the matchday programme for Everton’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Another issue packed with exclusive content features an in-depth interview with Mark Hughes.
The former Wales international striker reveals the incident which stopped him joining Everton much sooner than – to use his words – "the fag end of my career".
Hughes was set to sign despite being injured playing for Manchester United against Newcastle until external factors intervened.
He talks about the seven months he did have with the Club and some of his most significant encounters with Everton as a United player.
There is fresh news from Everton’s Women, Under-23 and Under-18 teams.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti and captain Seamus Coleman write their respective notes to supporters following the weekend’s rollercoaster draw with United.
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