Rabat - Moroccan footballer Younes Belhanda has ruled out a move to the English premier league in the 2019 summer transfer window, saying that he is happy with life at Turkish side Galatasaray.
Rabat – Moroccan footballer Younes Belhanda has ruled out a move to the English premier league in the 2019 summer transfer window, saying that he is happy with life at Turkish side Galatasaray.
The 28-year old playmaker has increasingly been linked with a number of Premier League sides following a successful season in the Turkish Super League and solid displays in Hervé Renard’s Atlas Lions side.
Crystal Palace reportedly proposed a £5.3 million transfer fee to obtain the services of the former midfielder. And with Galatasaray’s desire to sell some of its star players to meet UEFA’s financial fair-play regulations, the deal was expected to be sealed in the 2019 summer window.
Speaking to beIN Sports, however, Belhanda openly ruled out any prospects of transfer this summer, reiterating his desire to be part of Galatasaray’s next season Champions League’s squad.
“I am happy in Galatasaray. I will play here in the Champions League. I do not want to go to England,” the former Shalke 04 man was quoted by Turkish Football as saying.
Belhanda was part of Morocco’s Atlas Lions squad that won worldwide plaudits this summer for a solid performance at the World Cup in Russia, though many fans were left frustrated with the team’s exit in the group stage.
The Moroccan star also impressed at Galatasaray last season, helping the team claim league triumph by providing ten assists and scoring three goals.
Belhanda, who joined Galatasaray from Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv in 2017, is formally under contract with his current Turkish side until 2021.