Nicklas Helenius is confident he can enjoy a successful debut season at Aston Villa, if he is given his chance by manager Paul Lambert.
The Midlands club paid £1.2million for the 6ft 5in striker during the summer transfer window, but he has made just four appearances in all competitions thus far. All his outings have come from the substitute bench, and just two have been in the Premier League which equate to a total of just 46 minutes on the pitch.
However, Helenius remains confident in his own ability, and he is sure that if Lambert shows him trust, he can prove he has the necessary quality to succeed in England. The 22-year-old was a regular scorer for his previous club Aalborg BK, and he believes the goals will come for Villa if he is given the chance.
“At Aalborg BK I got better and better and at the end I was good enough to play from the start in every match,” the player, who scored 29 league goals during the past two years, told Politiken. “I am confident I can do it at Aston Villa too. I would be very satisfied if I get 15 to 20 matches (from the bench) this season.
“The goals will come when they come. I know that I can score if I get the chance; I am not worried about that. I have shown in training that I am a good finisher and they have told me that. I will get the chance when someone gets injured or one of the players play poorly in a number of matches and gets dropped. The manager has shown that he dares to do that and when I get the chance I have to take it.”
Helenius has two international caps for Denmark, but he won’t be booking his ticket to Brazil to participate in the World Cup Finals next summer. Although the Danes finished second to winners Italy in Group B, they have missed out on a playoff place as they has the worst record of all nine group runners-up.
