Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller says he turned down a move to England as he didn’t believe a move to the Championship would have been beneficial for his career.
The forward was linked with a move to Newcastle in the January transfer window but opted to switch to the German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of the season instead. Haller told L’Equipe (translated by the Chronicle) that moving from FC Utrecht to the Magpies just wasn’t the right fit at the time.
He felt the Championship might be a step down while the Magpies’ imminent promotion to the Premier League would have been too early for him in his career:
“It could have been an option, but to sign in the Championship, is this growth? The Premier League, it was a bit premature, I still need to play, to prove myself.”
Haller has an impressive record at international level, scoring goals for France regularly in their youth setup but he has yet to be capped by the senior side. At club level, he scored 50 goals in 95 appearances for Utrecht, as well as 15 in all competitions coming this season.
