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West Ham and Liverpool interest confirmed as star explains why £30m move collapsed
As the former Liverpool target opens up on his decision to snub a £30 million move to West Ham United, the decision he made during the summer in 2022 looks like a pretty good one in hindsight.
The Hammers mig🐠ht have won the Europa Conference Leag👍ue that following season, of course, David Moyes dancing a merry jig as Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen took turns carrying the trophy.
But Piotr Zielinski would have been paying little attention to West Ham’s success in Europe’s third-tier club competition as the celebrations raged on weeks after Napoli ended their 30-year wait for Scudetto𒊎 glory in Italy’s top flight.
Po🎐land playmaker Zielinski rejected West Ham’s advances in 2022 after informing then-Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti that he wanted to stay and 🌠challenge fo🃏r the Serie A crown.
A crown he would end up wearing, Napoli cruising to the title for the first time since Diego Maradona’♒🅠s Partenopei heyday.
Piotr Zielinski could have joined West Ham United and Liverpool
“[Napoli president Aurelio] De Laurentiis was already convinced about the offer of 35 million𓃲 [euros],” Zielinski explains. “[West Ham] were already looking for medical care for my wife and children and a place to liv🐬e.
“Coach Spalletti called me once and asked me what I would do. And I replied thaജt I would prefer to stay and fight for the title. He told me he wanted me to stay.
“I stayed because I didn’t feel lik⭕e I [wanted to move to] London either.”
This was not the first time Zielinski, who ไnow plays for Inter Milan, came close to securing a big-money move to the English Premier League.
It is no secret that Zielinski was a Liverpool 🎉target while still plying his trade with Udinese. He was even spotted wearing a Reds sh♈irt at the height of the speculation back in 2016.
And Zielinsꦍki, four caps short of 100 in Poland colours, remembers being invited into Jurgen Klopp’s Merseyside home with the Liverpool coach obviously beli✤eving that the personal touch would be enough to get a deal over the line.
“Jurgen Klopp invited me to his house,” Zielinsk🤪i recalls. “Liverpool sent a private jet to pick me up. When we landed, we took the bus to go to Kl🌃opp’s.
“The conversation was great. Klopp told meཧ that I was a mix between [Cesc] Fabregaไs and [Ilkay] Gundogan in his opinion.”
“They✤ offered 18.5m euros [around £15 million] but Udin⛦ese wanted something more.”
Bruno Fernandes wanted Inter Milan star at Manchester United
Of course, given the success Liverpool would go on to enjoy under Klopp, missing out on Zielinski back in 2016 hardly proved to be a disaster. West Ham, meanwhile, shifted their focus to Lucas Paqueta after missing ཧout on the now-30-yeaꦿr-old Pole two summer’s ago.
Zielinski also recalls former Udinese team-mate Bruno Fernandes attempting to lure him to Mancheste♌r United, while also indicating that Barcelona were willing to offer a couple of talented La Masia kids in exchange for his services at one point.
Atletico Madrid made their interest known too.
“At one point, Bruno Fernandes wanted me to sign ๊for Manchester United. We are still in touch. We speak verꦓy regularly,” Zielinski adds.
“There was [also] the idea of Barcelona. From what I heard, it was supposed to be a swap. Me to Catalonia in exchange for some young Blaugrana players to Nap🌌oli. Then [Napoli striker] Giovanni Simeone told me that his father [and Atletico boss] ♛Diego Simeone appreciated me a lot.
“He confirmed that he really liked my game and that for him I𓃲 was a great player.”
Zielinski is yet to really get going after joininജg Inter Milan on a free transfer after his Napoli contract expired. He has not started a Serie A 🥂game for the Nerazzuri, although Zielinski has come off the bench in each of the last four outings.