Leicester City summer signing Dennis Praet has revealed that he turned down a lucrative offer from Arsenal when he was 15 years old in order to concentrate on his studies in Belgium.
Reports claimed that Arsenal were interested in bringing Praet, along with former Sampdoria teammate Joachim Andersen, to the Emirates Stadium during this summer, but a move never materialised and the Belgium international signed for Leicester City on deadline day in a deal worth £18 million.
But things could have been different for the midfielder had he decided to go to Arsenal as a youngster.
“I had three or four really good options,” Praet said in an interview with the Guardian.
“We went to visit Arsenal, Lille, Ajax and Anderlecht. Arsenal would have been a really nice step and I could earn a lot more money there than in Anderlecht, but at that moment my education was not finished and that was really important for me – there was no insurance that I would become a good football player.”
Praet made his way through the youth teams at Genk, before joining the U19 team at Anderlecht, the club where he made his professional debut.
A move to Italy followed, before he eventually made his way to England to join Leicester.
The midfielder has made for appearances for the Foxes, impressing when coming on as a second half substitute against Tottenham in the 2-1 victory at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
