Jean Michael Seri has been explaining why he decided to ignore interest from Chelsea to secure a move to Fulham in the summer transfer window.
A host of top Premier League clubs were chasing Seri’s signature in recent months following his impressive spell at Nice, including Chelsea. However, the Ivorian international opted to seal a surprise switch to Craven Cottage.
Speaking to the Times, the enigmatic midfield player opened up on why he felt Fulham was the perfect destination for his development and confirmed that Chelsea among other Premier League clubs had expressed an interest.
When I played for Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal, Nice came for me and they really came. Fulham wanted me the same way. They said, ‘We want you, come to Fulham.’ Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, they saw me but they didn’t say, ‘We want you.’
The Blues significantly bolstered their midfield in the summer through the acquisition of Jorginho from Napoli and the loan signing of Mateo Kovacic from Real Madrid.
However, it seems Chelsea had certainly indicated a concrete interest in signing Seri from Nice, as he continued to establish himself as one of Ligue 1’s most impressive midfielders.
Because Fulham gave me this respect, although other clubs wanted me, I wanted to sign for Fulham. Fulham said to my president: ‘We want Mika Seri, talk to him if he’s interested because we know Chelsea, Manchester (United) want him and he almost signed for Barcelona but we are back in the Premier League.
My president calls me, he says, ‘Fulham want you, do you want to go?’ I say, ‘If they want me, they respect me.’ The big clubs want me but Fulham show they want me.
