Incoming Rangers striker Fashion Sakala has claimed he turned down offers from two clubs in the Premier League as well as two from the top five in France to sign a four-year deal with Steven Gerrard’s Scottish champions.
The Zambian international will move to Ibrox this summer from Belgian side Oostende and told how talks with Gerrard left him feeling like he had to move to Scotland.
After turning down the un-named sides from England and France, Sakala is confident he’s made the right choice to swap Belgium for Scotland and insists the switch to Rangers is better than a move to the Premier League or Ligue 1.
“I had a lot of teams interested in me. I had two teams in the Premier League and I met them in England. They explained how they wanted me to play,” Sakala said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I had two teams from the top five in France – I also met with them.
“But I spoke to Gerrard and after he talked to me, I felt I had to move to Rangers.
“It’s a very big thing, a dream come true for me. Playing for Rangers is better than playing for other teams in the Premier League or France.
“I believe I’ve made the right decision. Even if I had the options again, I’d still make the same decision. I’d still choose Rangers.”
Who was competing with Rangers for Sakala?
While the Zambian hasn’t named the clubs that were interested, he has given a couple of hints who his prospective suitors were.
The top five of Ligue 1 this season was Lille, PSG, Lyon, Monaco and Marseille with eventual title winners Lille previously credited with an interest.
Narrowing down the Premier League sides he turned down is a bit trickier though with previous reports regularly only referring to ‘English’ clubs being interested.
It seems likely that a Newcastle-type would be the most likely option for Sakala rather than one of the Premier League’s top six – but the Gers won’t really care too much who he turned down after putting pen to paper at Ibrox.
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