Aymen Abdennour has revealed he could have joined Premier League giants Chelsea over the summer, but instead opted to join La Liga side Valencia.
The Tunisian centre-back chose to leave AS Monaco over the summer, and despite interest shown from England, Abdennour eventually chose Valencia and signed a five-year deal in Spain.
Chelsea were actively in the transfer market for a new centre-back, with Everton‘s John Stones on top of Jose Mourinho‘s wishlist, but after being snubbed three times by Everton, the Blues had to look elsewhere.
Mourinho‘s back-up target was Abdennour, and the defender has revealed there was interest from the English champions.
“There were a lot of clubs I could have gone to play for in England or in Italy, but in the the end [Peter] Lim’s project was what attracted me,” he told Super Deporte.
“I felt really flattered by Valencia’s interest and it’s really good [to be here].
“[Chelsea?] Yes, it’s true that there was interest.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt