Jean Michael Seri has revealed he joined Fulham over the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool because those clubs didn’t show him the same level of respect as his new employers.
The midfielder moved to heavy-spending Fulham from Nice over the summer and scored his first goal for the Cottagers against Burnley in the Premier League last month.
Previously linked with Barcelona, Seri was highly-rated during his time in France and admits there was interest in him from three of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs.
However, the 27-year-old ultimately opted for Fulham. And he has now revealed why.
“When I played for Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal, Nice came for me and they really came. Fulham wanted me the same way,” Seri told the Times.
“They said, ‘We want you, come to Fulham.’ Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, they saw me but they didn’t say, ‘We want you.’ Because Fulham gave me this respect, although other clubs wanted me, I wanted to sign for Fulham.”
There is likely some truth to Seri’s comments, but there is also a good chance Fulham were able to offer him guaranteed first-team football – a promise he might have struggled to attain at Spurs, Chelsea or Liverpool.
Tottenham are in need of a long-term replacement for Mousa Dembele, who has entered the final 12 months of his contract, and the Londoners have been linked with Ajax’s Frenkie de Jong and Porto’s Hector Herrera this week.
Whether Seri could have filled that role is up for debate.
