AS Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg admits he needs to learn Italian.

Stekelenburg joined the Giallorossi from Ajax in the summer, but admits he's struggling with the language.

"Italian is really hard to learn, a bit like my Dutch," he told Il Messaggero.

"I'm taking lessons and I'm starting to understand it, but I still don't talk very much of it at this moment in time.

"I have to communicate with my teammates in English while we're on the pitch. I know German too, but that's no use.

"A lot of my colleagues talk Spanish as well to boss Luis Enrique.

"I know that I have to learn Italian, and quickly, in order to make myself understood."