W ith a big, welcoming smile, one of Danish football’s hottest young properties greets Just Football to talk about himself, his career and his ambitions. Pione Sisto may not be a name familiar to many outside of Danish football but give it some time. The kid is going places.

At only 21, the FC Midtjylland starlet has already written his name into folklore at the Danish club, who face Manchester United in the Europa League knockouts in a game dubbed by one journalist pre-match as the biggest in the club’s history. Sisto was a decisive figure in Midtjylland’s historic 2014/15 campaign, in which the Ulvene or ‘Wolves’ won the first and only Danish Superliga title in their history.

Sisto only made his breakthrough at the Jutland-based club as a teenager two years prior, but scored eight goals in 22 appearances for Midtjylland in 2014/15, helping the rank outsiders hold off the likes of Danish giants FC Copenhagen and Brondby to lift a title few had predicted.

Sisto was named the Superliga’s Autumn player of the season for his efforts in a golden campaign in 2014, cementing his status as one of the nation’s brightest young talents.

A pacy, threatening wide man who has the speed, directness and trickery to cause United problems, Sisto has since gone on to make his senior debut for Denmark at international level, and showed glimpses of what a talent he is at the UEFA Under-21 European Championships in Czech Republic last June.

So it’s something of a surprise that when I meet Sisto and ask him to tell Just Football readers a bit more about him, he seems completely shocked. “You want me to talk about myself?!” he asks unassumingly. Clearly, stardom has yet to get to his head.

Just Football meets Pione Sisto

“Well I came to Denmark when I was two months old, with my family,” says Sisto in near perfect English. “We have been there since. I got my Danish passport not long ago and now I am able to play for Denmark which I’m very happy about. I’m happy to represent Denmark, which I’m doing now.”

Pione Sisto’s back story is an interesting one. Few black players have represented Denmark previously, and the youngster’s journey to where he is today is compelling.

“We’re nine kids in the family,” he says, smiling. “I’m number three. So we live in Denmark all of us. I was born in Uganda but I come from South Sudan.”

Sisto’s family initially moved to Denmark fleeing civil war. Pione, one of nine children, settled in Herning, signing up to play for the local team, Tjørring IF. Eventually he was spotted and signed by Midtjylland.

Playing Style

In terms of playing style, the 21-year-old is a dynamic forward who can play in a variety of positions.

“I’m an attacker so I’m supposed to score goals, which I’m trying to do,” he says. “I try to make some assists also, which I’m quite good at too.”

“Dribbling is one of my strengths, yeah” he says. “Of course I have to get a little bit better in defence, which I’m working on and getting better and better, but that’s my weakness if I had to pick one.”

We move on to talk about his experiences in winning the title with Midtjylland, a club whose majority shareholder, Matthew Benham, also owns Brentford FC.

“Yeah it was the first time Midtjylland have won the league in Denmark. So it was very big, especially for a guy like me; I’m just 21-years-old and so to be a part of that was big too. So I was really happy to be a part of that.”

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Transfer rumours… and a move to England?

Inevitably, such a level of performance in what was a breakthrough season for Sisto led to speculation about his future. Europe’s bigger clubs feed off the smaller clubs’ young talent quicker and more keenly than ever in the modern age, and Sisto’s ability has not gone unnoticed.

“His flair and technique is something very unique to Danes and Denmark,” Claus Røndbjerg-Christensen, editor of DanishFooty, tells Just Football. “He reminds me so much of Nani in his early Man United days. The likes of Porto, Southampton, Everton, Dortmund and Ajax were after him.”

So is a move on the cards any time soon?

“Oh!” Sisto exclaims with a coy smile. “Well I know there’s a lot of talk about clubs being interested and transfers. Yeah, let’s see what is going to happen.

“Now it’s a little bit difficult to say what is good for me but let’s see what’s going to happen and what’s the best thing for me; whether to stay or to try something else. There’s a lot of opportunities but it’s difficult for me to say now what is good for me.”

Among numerous clubs to have scouted Sisto, reports in Denmark suggest West Ham were close to completing a move last summer, before the player himself turned it down.

“Do you think one day you might play in England?” I ask him directly.

“In England?! Ah! I don’t know, I don’t know. Let’s see,” says Sisto.

F or now, the task at hand is not to join an English club but to conquer one. Manchester United will provide a stern test for Midtjylland, a club founded after a merger between Ikast and Herning Fremad in 1999 – the year United won the treble.

Among their main players, Sisto is definitely a dangerman the Red Devils will have to look out for. “He can bring people out of balance, he has good technical abilities, and despite his age, he has a lot of maturity in his game,” former England international Colin Todd and now coach of Danish club Randers has said previously in praise of Sisto.

The two teams have never met before in UEFA competition. For Pione Sisto, his teammates and the club as a whole, it’s a big chance to leave a lasting impression.

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