Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior was mainly restricted to a substitute’s role in the first half of this season, making only four starts in the league.
The defender’s situation at the north London club saw several clubs make contact to secure his services on a loan deal in the winter market.
That’s at least what Polish journalist Piotr Koźmiński is reporting, and he made this claim about the Arsenal player to Canal+ Sport, relayed by Transfery Info.
Koźmiński says there were around 15 to 20 clubs from Spain and Italy that wanted Kiwior, but they were unsuccessful because the Gunners refused to let him leave.
“As far as I can tell, he had about 15, maybe even 20 loan opportunities. It was all about Spain or Italy. There were so many inquiries for him. From the very beginning Arsenal didn’t agree to it and we can see now that it worked out for him,” he said.
The journalist hasn’t mentioned details of any of the clubs that made contact to sign the 24-year-old in January. Claims from Italy had stated AC Milan and Napoli were keen on the Poland international in January.
Since the last window, the defender has made eight appearances [seven starts], scoring a goal and registering three assists in the process.
Mikel Arteta has recently used the Pole as a left-back following an injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Kiwior has retained his place even after the Ukrainian regained full fitness.