Feyenoord’s Quilindschy Hartman has revealed that Chelsea showed serious interest in him in the winter market.
The left-back was a guest on ESPN NL’s Goedemorgen Eredivisie, where he gave an insight into the approach made by the Blues, and his comments are relayed by 1908.nl.
Hartman has been a regular for the Eredivisie side this season, playing 38 matches before suffering a serious knee injury in March.
The Netherlands international is unlikely to feature again in this calendar year, but earlier this month, 1908.nl reported Chelsea are still interested in him. It was also said the Blues could make an approach for him once he regains full fitness.
This report is now backed by the 22-year-old himself, who claims the west London club maintain interest, but a move isn’t on the cards right now.
When asked about Chelsea’s interest, he said: “I don’t think they want me now, but they really wanted me.
“It actually started in the winter. They came to Feyenoord last winter break, but I actually didn’t want it at that time, because I had only just broken through and I only started playing everything in the first six months.
“Also, with the Dutch national team and the European Championship coming up. So, there was no real question about it and it was also clear from Feyenoord: we were open to it in the summer, but not at all now.
“That has returned in recent months. They really wanted me and I was certainly open to that, but now unfortunately things have turned out differently [due to an injury].”
The Dutchman already has a door open to join the Premier League side at some stage in the future and a potential move to Chelsea will depend on how he recovers from the injury.
“They [Chelsea] have wished me good luck and let me know that the interest will not stop. Who knows, we will see,” he added.
