Holdt: "It’s crazy to think I’ve only been here for three months… I feel at home"

Olivia Holdt has made an electric start on the pitch after waiting patiently for her time to shine for Spurs.

Having completed a move to north London in the opening week of the January transfer window, the exciting midfielder spent the first couple of weeks recovering from a lengthy injury lay-off that she suffered with her previous club, Rosengard, that kept her out since early September.

But that didn’t stop the Denmark international making an impressive impact on her debut for the Club.

Stepping off the bench in our Women’s Super League trip to Crystal Palace in January for her first minutes in Lilywhite, she netted the winning goal in the contest, curling home a free-kick into the top left corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Despite the frustrating start to her time at the Club, she has now made eight appearances for us all in competitions, starting our last two WSL games, and Olivia highlighted the warm welcome received from her team-mates and coaching staff has already made it feel like home for her.

Speaking to us in the Official Matchday programme against Brighton & Hove Albion last month, she told us: “I told my mum and some of my friends from home that it feels like I've been here for six months already, so it's crazy to think that I've only been here for only a couple of months, which I guess is a very positive sign.

“It takes some time to get into the team and, I wouldn't say I had a difficult start, but I had a little bit of a different start because I was training on my own with the physios, but now I'm fully back in the squad and have played some games, it feels really good and I feel a part of the group.

“I knew that it was going to be slightly difficult to just come in, go fully into training and then games, especially as you don't have the pre-season where you get to know the people and create relationships, but I think the team has helped me a lot and I've had some good conversations with Robert [Vilahamn] and the staff to make me feel at home.”

The 23-year-old spent three seasons at Rosengard and, during her time in the Damallsvenskan (Swedish top flight), she maintained a prolific goalscoring record throughout, netting 25 goals in 47 appearances, including 13 last term.

Now, having made the switch to England for the first time in her career, she spoke about the need to adjust quickly to the new environment – on and off the pitch.

“There has not been much of a big difference off the pitch, the team were very welcoming and the girls have been super sweet and very open, so it's been easy to adjust away from the pitch,” explained our number 11.

Watch | Olivia's stunning injury-time free-kick

“I think, on the pitch, the biggest difference is the tempo is higher, the intensity is higher, the people are stronger, the players are just in general more technical, without saying something bad about Sweden as I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, it just feels as if everything is kind of like a step up.

“So, I wouldn't say that the tactics are just so much better, it’s the whole package of the game, and it also feels very professional.”

Not only is the 23-year-old having to adjust to life in the football department but also living in London – and that has certainly been a new experience for her.

“The first couple of days were a bit overwhelming with a lot of people, I come from a small town and I'm not used to so many people in a small space,” she answered, with a smile beaming across her face.

“However, now I live just outside London, so it's a bit smaller and then some days, when you have more energy or a day off, it's nice to go into London.”