Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap admits he came close to joining Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund last year.
Bella-Kotchap has been frozen out at Saints this season after a summer move to Hoffenheim fell through.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Recalling the 2023 market, the defender told BILD: "(BVB sports chief) Sebastian Kehl was said to have been very serious about me at the time, but Southampton rejected the move.
"At Bayern, things were even more concrete. I had already spoken to Marco Neppe, the technical director of FC Bayern at the time. In the end, the move to FC Bayern fell through at the last minute because there was no agreement with Southampton.
"Once you've had the chance to play for such top clubs, it's clear that you'll continue to dream about it. I want to perform well again soon so that I'm interesting for clubs like Bayern and Dortmund again."