The waiting is over - time to get out there! That's what Werder's new signing Aron Johannsson must have thought as he took to the field with his new teammates for the first time on Thursday morning. "I can hardly wait to play, and to have some great experiences with this team," the 24-year-old told WERDER.DE.

The striker will however have to wait a while to make his first appearance in a Werder shirt - he's not in contention for this weekend's cup clash against Würzburger Kickers. "We hope that Aron will settle in quickly, but he'll train for the next couple of days before having the weekend off. He'll join full training with the team from Monday," said Viktor Skripnik of the agreement reached between coach and player.

The striker has been through a gruelling time in the recent weeks. After a long season with AZ Alkmaar, in which his nine goals in 21 appearances helped the club to a third place finish in the Dutch Eredivisie, the striker then travelled to the Gold Cup with the USA national team. Just five days after the end of the tournament, he was again in action with his club in their quest to qualify for the Europa League. "Aron has had a really tough period recently and he's certainly earned his break this weekend," said Skripnik. "It would obviously have been better if I'd have been able to complete a full pre-season, but this is the situation I find myself in. I'll give my best in order to help the team as quickly as possible," said the new striker.

The most immediate task ahead of Johannsson is to settle in quickly and to get to know his new teammates. Born in Mobile, Alabama, the son of Icelandic parents says he feels at home on the Scandinavian island. "My friends and family live in Iceland, and that's where I grew up," said Johannsson. He even represented Iceland at U21 level before committing himself to the USA national team. To date, the striker has twelve caps for Jürgen Klinsmann's national side, meaning he also has a good relationship with former Werder player Andreas Herzog, who is Klinsmann's assistant manager. "Obviously I spoke to Andreas Herzog about Werder. He had only good things to say about the club, and the Bundesliga," said Werder's new no. 9. Herzog's words "mean a lot" to the striker, since he calls the Austrian former player "a legend, who probably has the best left foot I've ever seen".

There was also one more person who Johannsson went to for advice, as he revealed in his interview with WERDER.DE. "My best friend from Denmark is a huge Werder Bremen fan. I asked him a few things and he was really excited, but I already knew about the club and its history," chuckled the USA international, who had already made up his mind about the move. "I really wanted to make the next step in my career, and to play for a big club in a strong league. I can do that here at Werder."

Despite his international experience, a very different challenge to anything he's faced before awaits Johannsson in the German top flight. "He's a young man, and this is a new league for him. Obviously we hope that he'll hit the ground running, but we're not expecting too much. He's signed a four-year contract and he'll need time," said Skripnik. Thomas Eichin also echoed these views. "He'll certainly need some time to settle in," said the chief executive.

The new signing got his first run out on the Osterdeich pitches on Thursday morning as he took part in training for the first time. He was also able to show the coaching staff what he can do. "Aron is a quick striker who likes to get involved in the build-up play. He's got great potential and is in great shape. You can't go wrong as a dynamic player in the Bundesliga. He may come across as timid, but when you see him on the pitch it quickly becomes obvious that he never misses a trick," said sporting director Rouven Schröder. Johannsson has time to show these qualities off - and even more time to settle in to his new home.