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Besiktas boss Bilic eyeing future Premier League return

Besiktas boss Slaven Bilic is looking forward to returning to England after drawing Arsenal in their Champions League qualifier.

Former Everton and West Ham United defender Bilic admits he's had offers to coach in the Premier League.

Asked directly if he has ever been approached to manage here, he replies quietly: "Seven times."

He will not name the clubs but is regularly linked with a return to West Ham, where he was a popular player and forged friendships with Harry Redknapp and Rio Ferdinand that still exist today.

There is no doubt he is a confirmed Anglophile.

"I am really connected to England, I lived a very important part of my life there and I feel they like me there," he says.

"I love the English attitude to football. We played a pre-season friendly this summer against Hereford United and they showed an unbelievable spirit."

He added: "If you asked me which country I'd want to work in next, there is a big gap between England and the rest of the countries. But that is for the future, not now. Istanbul suits me as a city. I love it."

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