Lazio, Taylor spellbound: "The passion here is overwhelming. Sarri? He gave me a headache in the first few days!"

"The passion here at Lazio is overwhelming. Right from my debut against Verona, I realised what it’s like in Rome. There’s constant pressure, but it’s wonderful. I already feel like I’ve settled in well, and teammates like Danilo Cataldi are helping me enormously to understand what it really means to wear this shirt. Every match is a battle, and I feel ready to fight them all. Ajax was my second home, so obviously it was a bit more emotional to make my debut there, but it’s good for me to take on a new challenge. Lazio is a great team, lots of the lads have helped me and, of course, I’m lucky to have Tijjani (Noslin, ed.) here.”

"Here in Formello, my head was spinning during the first few days. There’s an incredible amount of tactical information to take in. At Ajax, I was used to marking my man almost all over the pitch, but here it’s different. You have to learn to ‘hand over’ your opponent to a teammate much more quickly and focus on the position of the ball and the defensive line. If you’re off by a metre, a huge gap opens up and the manager spots it straight away. In one of my first matches, I had to come off before the 90th minute because I got cramp. That’d never happened to me before. In Serie A, the defensive intensity is gruelling; you can never switch off. I’m working really hard on learning Italian. I have to, because even Sarri’s assistants hardly speak any English at all. The manager speaks it, but he explains everything in Italian. Until he sees me looking a bit confused… at that point he translates something else for me (laughs, ed.)”.

"Manager Koeman sent me a message after I joined Lazio: 'Great move, we’ll be keeping an eye on you. Good luck.' It was a positive sign for me. He often told me I needed to become more ‘mature’ and more assertive in one-on-one situations; I have to say that now I understand what he meant – it really is a completely different experience playing every week in a top league like this. In the Eredivisie, I could sometimes get away with just playing it safe, relying on my technique. In Italy, if you don’t bring that competitive edge to the table, you get run over. This experience is turning me into a much more solid player. But I didn’t make this choice just for the national team; I simply wanted to grow as a person and as a footballer. I needed something new, a new environment and a new challenge. I made my debut for the Netherlands as a substitute and I feel I did well; I even scored a penalty in the series. But then, during the next international break, I went to the European Under-21 Championship and haven’t been called up since. There’s a lot of competition for my position, but it would be fantastic to get back into the squad. I often think about the last World Cup and I’d love to relive that experience, but to do so I need to keep performing well here at Lazio.”

"When I signed for Lazio, Farioli sent me a message: he wrote that he didn’t like me quite as much anymore (laughs, ed.). He said he was sorry, but he also congratulated me – it was a lovely gesture. I really enjoyed working with him; he’s a truly great manager. It’s no coincidence that everyone was in tears when he left Ajax. He also told me that Sarri would be the perfect coach for me. I see a lot of similarities between them in their approach to football, in terms of structure and possession. He reassured me that Lazio’s style of play would be the logical next step in my development. And then here in Rome there’s this derby thing, which is incredible. My friend Rensch and I speak often, which is great. But the first thing he said to me was literally: ‘We absolutely cannot walk around the city together here’ (laughs, ed.). The sporting rivalry between Lazio and Roma runs incredibly deep. The match is on 17 May, and it’s a game we’re both really looking forward to.”