Abdoulaye Doucoure reveals he had interest from Leeds United in the summer | OneFootball

Former Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has revealed that he had interest from Leeds United in the summer.

Leeds were keen on bolstering their options in the middle of the park, and the Frenchman appealed to manager Daniel Farke as he was available on a free.

However, Doucoure opted against a move to the club, joining Saudi Arabia’s NEOM SC instead after nine years in the Premier League.

“Obviously, I knew my time would come to an end at some point because my wish was always to come to Saudi Arabia or the Middle East,” Doucoure told The Athletic.

“And I knew they (Everton) were trying to bring new players. I had the proposition on the table from Everton but the offer from Saudi was much higher.

“I had a lot of interest from the Premier League. I had a huge proposal from Sunderland as I knew the manager (Regis Le Bris), my former academy coach in France, very well.

I had some interest from Leeds and Burnley. But if I was staying in England, Everton was my priority. So I didn’t really answer those teams.”

The former Watford star has 278 Premier League appearances under his belt and would have been a huge addition to the Leeds midfield.

However, Doucoure was no longer keen on remaining in England, and the offer in the Middle East was too much for him to turn down.

The Whites signed Sean Longstaff from Newcastle United and Anton Stach from TSG Hoffenheim, and the duo have been key players under Farke.

Leeds have recorded two wins, two draws and three defeats in their opening seven Premier League games of the season. Their chances of surviving the drop look very decent right now.