‘The Great Dane’, ‘Manchester United’s best ever goalkeeper’, ‘The Premier League’s number one’, and the ‘finest keeper of all-time’. When all of these phrases have been used to describe your father, it’s never going to be easy to follow in his football footsteps.

Very much his own man, Kasper Schmeichel is determined to leave his own football legacy, but comparisons with his father Peter are natural. Similarities in their playing style, physical appearance and ability to pull off lightning-quick reaction saves are evident when watching Kasper in action, but when meeting the 25-year-old, his firm handshake, confident body language and steely determination to succeed are just as reminiscent of his father.   

Still relatively young for a goalkeeper, Leicester City’s first choice between the sticks has already experienced plenty in his career and has chosen Leicester City as the next destination of his football journey.  

Soar Magazine caught up with Kasper at the club’s Belvoir Drive training ground as he assessed his first six months at King Power Stadium, tolerated our inevitable questions about his father and talked with confidence about what the future holds for him and Leicester City.

Jon Reeves: Firstly Kasper, how would you assess your time at Leicester City so far?

Kasper Schmeichel: I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been  good. I’m settling in and starting to find my feet so I’m enjoying being here. My form has been ok but there’s always room for improvement. Generally speaking, it’s been ok but I’ll keep working hard to improve.

JR: At the start of the season It was pretty much a new back five of players. It was always going to take a bit of time to gain that understanding?

KS: That’s the way it is. As new players you have to get to know how each other plays and I was lucky that I played with Millsy (Matt Mills) before, as I knew him from Manchester City, but on the whole I think we’ve gelled quite well.

JR: It’s been an eventful few months, with Sven-Goran Eriksson leaving and now Nigel Pearson coming in as manager. How has it been from the players’ point of view?

KS: It’s a bit different but as footballers we’re paid to play football and not really make decisions, so we just get on with it. The new gaffer has come in and he’s been a breath of fresh air. He’s really enthusiastic and he’s a winner and that’s what we want.

JR: It’s been an inconsistent start but is promotion still on the cards?

KS: One hundred per cent. There are over 25 games left and it’s still very early days and everything is possible.

JR: What are your earliest memories of football?

KS: I just always watched football. Obviously from the day I was born it has always been in my family and has always been a big part of our lives, so for me to get involved was just the natural thing.

I started quite late and didn’t start playing properly until I was about 14. I didn’t become a goalkeeper until I was 15. I was a striker but goalkeeping came naturally to me and I got to the point where I had to decide which position would get me the furthest and it was always goalkeeper. It wasn’t a conscious decision to be like my dad. For me, football has got to be enjoyable. It’s obviously more enjoyable when you’re winning things and that’s still the case.

JR: You were a Manchester United fan growing up and would’ve been about 12 when your dad left the club, how did that make you feel at the time?

KS: I wasn’t disappointed when he left. What better way to play your last three games than picking up three trophies, including the biggest one of the lot? It was the perfect way for him to end his Manchester United career.

JR: People compare you to your dad, but what similarities do you see between the two of you, as goalkeepers and as people?

KS: I don’t know, I let others decide.

JR: But there must be some attributes or characteristics that you’ve taken from him?

KS: He was a winner. I hate losing as well so that’s probably the main thing.

JR: How did signing for Manchester City come about?

KS: I was playing back home in Denmark and I got the chance to come and train with the Manchester City first team for a couple of weeks and they offered me a contract. There were good and bad times but I made some very good friends there and I still keep in touch with a lot of people that work there. I have mixed emotions when I look back at that time.

JR: You made your Premier League debut for Manchester City against West Ham United as a 20-year-old (pictured above), what are your memories of that experience?

KS: It was a bit of a whirlwind. It was mad. At such a young age you don’t really get time to think and now, looking back, you know what a big thing it was. When you’re young it just happens and you take it in your stride. It was brilliant and acts as an incentive to get back there.
 
JR: You gained a lot of first team experience out on loan and have had a couple of moves before joining Leicester. At which club would you say you developed as a player the most?

KS: Notts County, definitely. That was a fantastic year and I learned so much. It was great to go into a team that had so much spirit even through a lot of adversity but it all came together at the end. I still had two years left on my Manchester City contract and I had a great life there. I trained all week and had the weekends off but that’s not what football’s about for me. Football is about playing and I’d rather go out and play every week than just pick up my wages, I don’t think that’s right.

JR: What was the motivation behind signing for Leicester City?
 
KS: It was the opportunity to join a club going forward, that was progressing and wanting to go places. You can see by all the facilities that it’s all geared up for us to reach the Premier League and we’re all fully committed to doing that.

JR: How do you relax away from the game and what have you made of Leicestershire?

KS: I spend all my time with my family, with my little boy and enjoy watching him growing up. I live about 40 minutes away, which isn’t too bad, so I commute. I lived in a hotel in Leicester for a while, while my house was getting ready and it’s a nice place, with nice people and everybody has been really friendly. I’m thoroughly enjoying being here.

JR: Finally Kasper, what are your remaining ambitions in the game, I guess a senior cap for Denmark is up there?

KS: Just to become the best I can be. I’ve never been called up properly for Denmark so I don’t know what the script is there. At the moment I’m focusing on playing week in, week out and that’s the most important thing for me.

A man who has already experienced so much of what the beautiful game has to offer, Kasper Schmeichel’s determination to maximise his potential can only be good news for Leicester City.