Aston Villa player admits he was very close to leave the club in January

Clément Lenglet, who joined Aston Villa on a loan from Barcelona in the summer, found it difficult to play an important role for Unai Emery this season.

The centre-back’s first league game did not come until December.

Despite not playing in the previous four league games, he has made 13 appearances in the Premier League thus far.

The 28-year-old admitted to Gianluca Di Marzio that he thought about leaving Aston Villa during the January transfer window after corresponding with other teams.

The report claims AC Milan were one of the teams that showed interest in the Frenchman and he has now opened the door to making a switch to Serie A in the future.

“I arrived on the last day of the market and had an injury after a week that kept me out for ten days. At the time the team was playing well and so it was not the time for Emery to change: I understand and accept that. Then unfortunately Pau Torres got injured and so it was my time to play,” he said.

“I wasn’t playing consistently and therefore I wanted to find a solution. My priority was to play and at that moment it wasn’t possible, so there were contacts with other clubs. Then I started playing and plans changed. But Serie A is a championship that I like.”

The former Barcelona defender has revealed that Aston Villa boss Unai Emery called him to convince him to join the Premier League club.

“The fact that Emery called me was important in accepting the proposal. He’s very competitive, has great experience. He built a great project last season and we follow him every day. The club is very happy with his work – he’s one of the best coaches in the world,” Lenglet explained.

Aston Villa have had a successful season

With Aston Villa in the running to finish in the top four and win the UEFA Conference League, the Frenchman’s attention is now on finishing the season strong. After that, his future needs to be made clear.

Lenglet knows it’s unlikely, but he still aspires to be in Didier Deschamps’ team for the Euros in the summer.

Aston Villa are fourth in the Premier League ahead of Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League next season.