Dutch international winger Eljero Elia has revealed that he would have been keen to complete a move to Arsenal, but that Arsene Wenger missed out on the opportunity to sign him.
The 24 year old ended up making the switch to Italian giants Juventus instead, but has said that he rejected offers from Galatasaray and several other English clubs as well.
Elia told www.onsoranje.nl: “My agent did have contact with Arsenal, but it took too long. I had no contact with Arsene Wenger.
“Wigan, Everton, Fulham and Newcastle had fairly concrete interest.”
On a potential move to Turkey to play for Galatasaray, he added: “Financially, it was a good option. I asked the coach what he thought of the idea of me playing in Turkey. He said I would be out of the view of the scouts.
“I value his opinion. The Dutch team is very important to me.
“That’s partly why I chose Juventus, to get high-level play. He told me to go to England, but Italy was good too.”
However, Elia revealed he is happy to have made his deadline day switch to Juventus, and can’t wait to pull on the black and white shirt and follow in the footsteps of some of his idols.
“I used to have a Del Piero shirt,” he said. “I was also a big fan of Fabrizio Ravanelli.
“It’s great to play with a legend like Del Piero.”
COMMENTS