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Dreyer: It's good to be back

Brighton & Hove Albion’s under-23s completed day three of their pre-season training camp in Portugal this afternoon, and midfielder Anders Dreyer is enjoying his first week back after a busy summer.

By Kieran Cleeves • 11 July 2019

By Kieran Cleeves

Dreyer represented Denmark at the UEFA European Under-21 Championships last month, but his attention has now turned to Albion’s preparations for the 2019/20 Premier League 2 campaign. 

He said, “I had about 12 days to enjoy a break after the Euros — I went back to Denmark to spend time with my friends and family.

“I only came back on Saturday and we flew to Portugal on Sunday, so Monday was my first training session.

“We’re in a nice part of Portugal and the weather’s been good. The training pitch is in great condition, so it’s been an enjoyable but hard couple of days.

“It’s nice to get away and it brings the group closer together. There are some new guys in the squad from the under-18s, so it’s also been good for them.”

The 21-year-old featured for Denmark in their 2-0 victory over Serbia, and he reflected on his nation’s performance at the tournament, which was hosted in Italy and San Marino.

“It was a nice experience to play in a tournament like that, and I’m always proud to represent my country.

“We won two games, but unfortunately only the top team from our group went through and we weren’t the best second-placed team.

“It’s important to keep developing and gaining more experience. I’m hoping for more experiences like that in the future.”

Prior to this summer’s tournament, Dreyer made 11 appearances for Scottish Premiership side St Mirren during a loan spell, and the Dane was happy to build upon the defensive side of his game.

“The loan at St Mirren was a great experience for me, it was a tough league and I played a good amount of games. We survived in the league, which was the main thing.

“The defensive part of my game has improved. It was important to be powerful because we weren’t a top team in the Scottish league and we had to defend very well.

“It’s always been an area of my game that I’ve wanted to improve, so it was a good decision for me to play in Scotland and experience that.”