Leicester City player says he ‘will be happy’ to complete summer move to specific club

Rachid Ghezzal arrived at Leicester City from AS Monaco in 2018, when Claude Puel was in charge at the King Power.

The winger was restricted to only eight league starts in his first season with the Foxes.

Brendan Rodgers replaced Puel in February 2019 and didn’t include the 28-year-old in his plans at Leicester.

This forced the Algeria international to go out on loan to Fiorentina before joining Beşiktaş on another temporary deal last summer.

Ghezzal has been impressing in Turkey, scoring three goals and registering 14 assists in 23 league matches, and his fine displays helped him return to the national team for the March international break.

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The Leicester owned player gave an interview to bein Sports France, relayed by NTV Spor, explaining why he decided to join Beşiktaş last summer.

“The last three seasons have been difficult for me. I did not get enough [playing] time. I played in three different countries and three different clubs in the last three years,” he said.

“I regret not being able to show myself more. I accepted Beşiktaş’ offer to find myself again and return to my old level. It makes me happy to see that I took the right decision.”

Beşiktaş, who don’t have an option to make Ghezzal’s stay permanent, have a desire to keep him beyond his loan deal.

The Premier League side are reportedly demanding €8m, while Beşiktaş ‘want to find the middle ground’ to find an agreement for the transfer. The player stressed certain conditions will have to be considered when deciding where he will play next season.

“I have signed for one season and without the option to buy. My contract is still with Leicester City. I have another year of contract with Leicester City,” Ghezzal explained.

“I do not know what will happen next season. I will be happy to have continuity at Beşiktaş. For now, I focus on the championship. We will also play the cup final. It would be great if we won both trophies.

“If we become champion with Beşiktaş, we will be in the Champions League next season. Also, thanks to my performance with Beşiktaş, I got back to the national team after two and a half years.

“There is the African Cup and the World Cup… These issues will also be considered when making the decision [on where to play] for the next season.”