AC Milan youngster M’Baye Niang has revealed that he rejected offers from Arsenal and Everton during his time at Caen before moving to Italy.
M’Baye Niang has slowly established himself in the first-team setup at AC Milan since making the move from Ligue 1 outfit Caen in the summer transfer window of 2012-13 season. The 21-year-old is currently one of the hottest young properties in Italy and has revealed in an interview to Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport that the player had received offers from Premier League clubs Arsenal and Everton in the summer of 2012 while at Caen.
The player admitted to being tempted by the prospect of playing in the Premier League but said that he chose to reject those offers in favour of a move to AC Milan, a decision which is now bearing fruit as he has featured regularly this season for the Rossoneri and has performed admirably, with a return of 2 goals and an assist in the 5 Serie A games played thus far.
“The Premier League could’ve been the right football for me and I hope one day it will be. Playing there is my dream as it suits my style of play. I could’ve been there twice already. The first was when I chose Milan, even if Caen had already accepted offers from Arsenal and Everton,” Niang revealed to La Gazetta dello Sport, as quoted by Il Milanista.
The 21-year-old is, to an extent, right about his assessment as to his style of play being suited to the Premier League. The player is a forward who can also play as a wide forward and as a winger, has the burst of pace to run past defenders with ease and is known for his direct style of football. He is also expansive in his dribbling, adding flair to his repertoire.
The AC Milan youngster also revealed that he had received an offer in January 2016 while at AC Milan from eventual Premier League champions Leicester City, a proposition which was refuted as the club did not want to offload the player.
Niang said, “The second was in January, two or three days before the derby. My agent called and said Leicester had made an offer to Milan, but the club didn’t want me to go.”
The 21-year-old revealed that even though Leicester went on to win the Premier League and that he would love to be a part of it, he does not regret staying at AC Milan as he could have ended up playing a backup role to Jamie Vardy and not playing as much as he did at San Siro, something which is necessary for a player of his age to develop.
As stated above, Niang has harboured dreams of a chance to play in the Premier League. Judging by his potential and gradual progress towards fulfilling the same, the versatile forward could see many English clubs line up to bring the French youngster to England and give Niang a chance to live his dream of playing in the Premier League.
