Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg admitted that he would love to play in the Premier League after being linked with Southampton and Leicester City, while speaking to Aftonbladet.
This is not one of those classic ‘come and get me’ pleas.
Svanberg is happy at Bologna and does not exactly sound like a man ready to thrash out a transfer request and force a move away from the Serie A outfit.
The Sweden international has another couple of years left on his contract too.
But, with reports suggesting that Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton are weighing up bids for the box-to-box enforcer, Svanberg would certainly be tempted by the chance to follow in the footsteps of Olof Melberg, Freddie Ljungberg, Victor Lindelof and co.
“(If I was to leave Italy) then I would probably prefer to play in England. It is the league you watch the most when you’re little and the league I follow the most if I do not watch Italian football,” said the 6ft 1ins Svanberg, who joined Bologna from Malmo in 2018.
When pressed about a potential Premier League switch, the 22-year-old admitted that proving himself in Britain is indeed on his footballing bucket list.
“Believe and believe. I hope so, sometime (I can play in England). It would be fun.”
According to Calciomercato, Southampton tried and failed to sign the technically-gifted Svanberg in January, while Leicester have identified the stylish Swede as an ideal addition to a midfield high on quality but perhaps lacking in real depth (Di Marzio).
Reports have suggested that Bologna want £20 million for their prized asset; not that Svanberg is getting carried away as his price-tag soars ever higher.
“It’s quite a lot of money, but that’s what the football industry looks like. There is nothing I can really influence apart from performing on the field.”
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