Fiorentina’s Christian Kouamé has revealed he received an offer from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer transfer window.
Graham Potter was then in charge at The Amex and the Seagulls made firm efforts to bring the 25-year-old to the Premier League side.
The forward spent the previous season on loan at Anderlecht, where he scored 13 goals and managed 10 assists from 36 appearances in all competitions. His fine displays for the Jupiler Pro League side convinced Brighton to send a proposal to the Serie A side.
Il Tirreno have interviewed the Ivory Coast international, where he discussed the reason for not accepting the English club’s offer.
“It wasn’t just Brighton, there were so many offers. Ever since the retreat in Moena, I have concentrated solely on giving my best, to show [Vincenzo] Italiano that perhaps it could be worth it,” he said, as quoted by Firenze Viola.
“I did everything to prove my worth, at least to leave no stone unturned: I knew that I would have to be ready for any solution, while being aware of having to weigh every decision carefully.
“My partner was expecting our second child: if I had left Florence I would have had to take into account some other difficulties to face related to the acclimatisation, starting from scratch.”
It wasn’t just because of his family he decided to continue at the Serie A side. Kouamé was also delighted with the efforts put in by Italiano, Fiorentina and their president, Rocco Commisso, to convince him to continue at the club.
“Both the club and the coach explained to me that they intended to bet on me. The president also joined them: for me this sharing of intentions meant a lot. Here I knew I had an advantage, that is to know everything, teammates and coach. It was an easy choice and I stayed to come full circle,” the attacker explained.
Kouamé’s decision to not accept offers from Brighton and other clubs has paid off as he has managed three goals and seven assists from 22 matches this season for Fiorentina.
