Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has revealed that he was close to leaving Goodison Park under former boss Frank Lampard.
The former Watford man cut a frustrated figure during his time on Merseyside under Lampard as he was reduced to just one start in, what proved to be, a final season in L4 for the iconic England midfielder.
Under new manager Sean Dyche, the Mali international has been everpresent in the heart of the Blues midfield after winning two and losing three under the 51-year-old thus far. The 30-year-old is into the final six months of his contract at Everton as they look to beat the drop.
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Amid the uncertainty surrounding his future, the ex-Burnley boss has fielded questions about the next steps this week but Doucoure has expressed his happiness at the club.
"I was close to leaving," he told Sky Sports. "But in the end I stayed and I'm very happy because I never wanted to leave. I'm happy to be here and play and keep this team up.
"A lot of people maybe saw me [leaving Everton] but I always loved this club, I always want to fight for this club, play for this club. Unfortunately, I didn't have this opportunity for almost six months but I knew there was going to be light at the end of the tunnel.
"I kept working hard and when Sean Dyche was appointed I was very happy and I just thought, 'I'm going to have another opportunity and [will] show in training [what I can do]… and it has worked well for me so far."
In the matches leading up to Lampard's dismissal, there was speculation that the relationship between the Englishman and Doucoure had soured. A liked tweet from the 30-year-old seemingly agreed with a fan theory following a positive start to Dyche's tenure.
"I heard sometimes people saying, 'He's not ready, he's not fit' but it wasn't true," he added. "I was always fit, always ready to play. Maybe it was a personal thing but it doesn't matter now.
"I just came back and showed everybody I was ready to run and ready to help the team. I just never give up and I think Sean Dyche appreciated that.
"I feel great, I feel ready. Maybe compared to the others my season starts just five games ago so I'm very fresh, I want to play as much as I can. Everyone knows I've got good legs so I will try to help the team with that."
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