“This is very important” – Wolves star explains why he snubbed Manchester City interest | OneFootball

Arsenal, Manchester City and Fulham have all attempted to secure the signature of Wolves youngster Halis Joshua Esen, as per a new report.

Wolves brought in the winger to bolster their academy ranks from Welsh side Llanelli Town in 2021. Prior to his move to the Midlands though, Esen reportedly received proposals from Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.

This has been reported by Koray Durkal in his recent column for Hürriyet, where the Turkish journalist revealed that he recently received a ‘surprise phone call’ from Esen, wherein they discussed the apparent attempts of the aforementioned Premier League trio.

The journalist quizzed the Wolves U21 man on why he didn’t take either the bids from the two London clubs or from Pep Guardiola’s side into consideration.

Esen explained that there were two vital factors that would be pivotal in his ultimate decision to transfer to Wolves rather than the other suitors.

“First – Wolverhampton was the closest club to me geographically. As an academy, they constantly work with players and give them opportunities. This is very important,” the Welsh forward said.

“Second – Other clubs have very large pools of young players. They mostly opt for loan deals. I wanted a place where I could stay and prove myself.”

Durkal summarised the conversation rather than relaying it verbatim. Earlier this year, the youngster was promoted through the youth ranks to Wolves’ U21 side but is yet to make his debut for the senior side.

He is also eligible to represent Turkey and told the journalist that is his desire. “Gökhan Gönül invited me when he was in charge of the U21 National Team,” Esen added.

“However, I couldn’t participate because of a problem with my Turkish citizenship (which we are still trying to resolve). But my dream is to wear the Turkish senior National Team jersey and I am working towards that.”

It remains to be seen just how big a talent Esen will be but if he continues to develop and grow, it may prove to have been a missed opportunity for Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham to secure the winger whilst they had the chance.