Sevilla defender Jules Kounde has revealed he told club director of football Monchi that he would not force a move to Manchester City during the summer transfer window.
Pep Guardiola was keen to strengthen his defence after failing to defend the Premier League title last season as well as failing to reach the latter stages of the Champions League.
City landed Nathan Ake from relegated Bournemouth but were still intent on signing another defender, identifying Kounde as an option to partner Aymeric Laporte in the back four.
The Blues saw a bid rejected by Sevilla for the 21-year-old and ultimately switched their focus to Ruben Dias, who joined for a club-record fee from Benfica following Nicolas Otamendi's departure.
Kounde has previously admitted it would have been a 'good opportunity' to move to the Etihad Stadium but stressed during a new interview that he never intended to force a departure from Sevilla.
"The interest of a club like City is always a good thing," he told the club's official website. "But I'm at Sevilla and I'm very calm.
"I'm lucky to be at a club that competes at a very good level. We have a fantastic group of players and people.
"There wasn't a bad option, but I always told Monchi that I would not force anything.
"If everyone wasn't happy, I knew I had a contract here, playing in the Champions League."
