Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria has confirmed he could have joined a Premier League club in the summer rather than making the move to Germany.
The Swiss international made the €10m switch from Young Boys at the start of July, but he was also heavily linked with English trio Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool prior to his transfer.
Speaking in an interview with German magazine Kicker (via Weltfussball.at), the 20 year old revealed he had options in England:
“There was interest from England, which I can confirm, but the people at Borussia really fought very hard for me. I had the impression that they wanted me absolutely, that impressed me, my [gut] feeling told me that Gladbach is the best choice for me.”
Zakaria believes he can use Gladbach as a stepping stone for playing for a bigger club in the future, leaving the door open for a potential switch to Arsenal:
“In time I can go on to an even larger club; the past has often proved that.”
This season for Gladbach, the holding midfielder has played eight times in all competitions, making starts in seven of them. He was however left on the bench for the Bundesliga side’s 2-1 win over Hannover at the weekend, after previously starting the heavy 6-1 away defeat to league leaders Borussia Dortmund.
