He told reporters: "He's so in the know with the club now that he knows everything, you know! That moment would have been a long time ago. I started speaking to the club, maybe in October, so a really long time ago because I had been doing quite well at Sunderland. I can't remember what his first reaction was to be honest, but I remember telling him, he was one of the first people I called as soon as I know I would sign for Dortmund. I was at St George's Park with England, preparing for the Under-21s Euros which obviously I didn't go to in the end.
"I did call him but he just said he was extremely proud. He smiled a lot, he laughed a lot but he didn't really have anything to say other than 'Embrace it.' That's the main thing he keeps on saying to me when we do speak. He just says to embrace it because the club is so big and so unique, there's so many great things that if you embrace will be an unbelievable experience for you."