Piotr Zielinski spoke at length with Jurgen Klopp but never moved to Anfield (Image: GETTY)
A former Liverpool target has revealed that he decided to reject a move to Anfield despite flying to England and driving to Jurgen Klopp's house. Piotr Zielinski was admired by some of Europe's biggest clubs during his time at Napoli, with Liverpool among his suitors.
The Reds pushed hard to bring Zielinski to Merseyside but were not the only club in the race for his signature. The likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and West Ham were all interested in the midfielder while Arsenal also came close to snapping him up.
In a recent interview with Foot Truck, Zielinski recalled how Liverpool sent a private jet to Italy to fly him and his agent to England. He also spoke at length with Klopp after travelling to his house when a move to Anfield was looking like a real possibility.
Zielinski remained at Napoli until he joined Inter Milan in the summer window (Image: GETTY)
"Jurgen Klopp invited me to his house," he said. "Liverpool sent a private jet to pick me up. I was shocked because it was the first time I travelled on that means of transport. When we landed, we took the bus to go to Klopp’s. It was a building, he had everything there.
"The conversation was great. Klopp told me that I am a mix between [Cesc] Fabregas and [Ilkay] Gundogan in his opinion. I didn’t understand anything, but my agent spoke German and told me everything. When we were leaving, I managed to take a picture with Klopp."
Zielinski added that Arsenal were also in talks with Napoli regarding a potential move for his services. Barcelona, meanwhile, offered to include some of their youth players in a swap deal but Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis was unwilling to entertain it.
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Eventually, the playmaker decided to stay in Italy after speaking with Napoli's then-manager Luciano Spalletti and discovering they were on the same page.
He explained: "Spalletti took me aside once and asked me what was going on. I said I would rather stay, fight for the championship. He said: 'I want you to stay', and that it would be the best version of Zielinski."
The Poland international remained at Napoli until the end of last season before joining Inter Milan in the summer window. He is yet to make his first league start for the Italian giants but has featured in both of their Champions League games without scoring or assisting.
