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After being associated with Chelsea for seven years, Kenneth Omeruo left the club and completed a permanent switch to Leganés in the summer.

The Blues signed the defender from Belgium side Standard Liege in 2012 and he was sent out on loan from then until the end of last season. Therefore, he never featured for the Europa League winners.

Having failed to find his way at Stamford Bridge, the Nigeria international urged the Premier League side to sanction his sale in the last window.

“Every year I thought I would have the opportunity to play at Chelsea, but in the end it didn’t come. So last season I told them: ‘Let me go play in La Liga and test if I have the quality’,” he was quoted as saying by AS.

Omeruo spent the previous campaign on loan at Leganés and after impressing under Mauricio Pellegrino, the former Southampton manager convinced him to join the Spanish club.

Leganés paid €5m to Chelsea to acquire the 26-year-old’s services, but the player didn’t expect the La Liga side to complete his transfer.

“I had several options, but the coach of that time [Pellegrino] gave me a lot of confidence and told me that he wanted me to stay. The club made an effort to sign me. I didn’t think they could buy me from Chelsea, but they did it,” the African stressed.

The centre-back has been a regular figure in Leganés’ defence since the start of last season and has nine league starts to his name this campaign.