Thestrup: Competition for places will help everyone improve

The striker, one of a number of summer arrivals for the Giallorosse, is settling in to life within Betty Bavagnoli’s squad – and hopes being around the quality of players available to the coach will improve her own game this season.

Having established herself as one of the best attacking players in her homeland – and earning international recognition to go with that – Thestrup has her sights set on making a similar impact in one of Europe’s bigger leagues.

“It’s always been a dream and a goal of mine to play professionally in one of the best leagues in Europe,” Thestrup said.

“And after many seasons in the Danish league, and many good seasons there, I thought it was the right time for a new challenge in a new league. And when Roma became an opportunity there was no doubt this was the place I wanted to go. I am very proud to be here.”

She added: “My initial impressions are that it is a very professional setup [here]. The level of the team is very good, we have many great players and all the girls are great people.

"So I’m happy about things so far and I look forward to continuing to work hard during pre-season to be ready for the campaign.”

With Annamaria Serturini and Agnese Bonfantini returning from last season, and the likes of Thestrup, Lindsey Thomas and Andressa Alves all added to the group, Bavagnoli suddenly has a wealth of attacking options at her disposal – which means plenty of competition for places.

“It’s definitely a motivation that there are so many great players in all positions,” Thestrup said.

“It means you have to be 100% focused and at your best at all times and in every training session. I think that is an environment that will develop both the individual players and the team. I look forward to competing for my spot on the team.

“Team-wise, I hope that we can continue building on last year’s success, and ideally make the top two to play in the Champions League next season. That would be amazing. Personally, I hope the professional setup will develop me as a player and my goal is to contribute to the team’s success with some aggressive attacking play - and goals, of course.”

Thestrup believes adjusting to a new league and new teammates should happen relatively quickly.

“Italian football seems very technical, organised and fast – which I think suits me well,” Thestrup noted.

“I’ve been very impressed with the growth and the development of the women’s league in recent seasons. I think there are many leagues that can learn from the development of the women’s side here in Italy.

“I was very happy to make my debut for the national team [last season], but I also knew that to secure my spot in the future I needed to go to an even better league and an even better club. And I think that Roma is a perfect fit for that.”