Arber Zeneli talks about hurt, Kosovo team and details from Chelsea's interest

The star of the Dyrdians has said it was time to leave Hererenven and move to Reims in January of 2019, but is currently recovering from a injury he suffered in the Euro 2020 qualifying match against Montenegro.

I felt it was time to try something new. I had a bad experience with an agent before these things happened. After moving to Heerenveen, I signed up with another agent who came with many talks and stuff. Then I got hurt and still made a good effort after my injury in terms of points and the way I played. Unfortunately, I feel like you don't have to trust everyone and everything that's been said to”, Zenelli said, broadcast. Telegraph.

“I was a little sad, you want to try something new. Agents say they have something going on and then you think it's time soon. But it was nothing, and we broke the contract and went different ways. Then I found another agent and then I felt “it's time, I want to test something new”.

I was in Hererenveen for three years and finally I moved to Reims. They were more interested and they really came to the sports director at Heerenveen and said: “Arber is our top priority and we want it as soon as possible. It was such a thing that I appreciated, that they really loved me”, says 24-year-old for Fotballskalen.

But there were rumours of clubs evidently larger than Reims. Nine days before Zenel's transfer to Reims, Sky Sports reported that Chelsea and several other English teams were watching his game closely. He himself says he actually had substance in the information and that The Blues were interested.

“Yes. I talked to the agent and it was a concrete offer, they were interested. But, of course, it has to do with time and things like that. Chelsea is an extremely large club and if they had come to me 100%, then I think nobody would have refused. Finally, I passed by Reims. If I dream too much, then I hope Chelsea comes back if I play well here in Reims. I hope clubs like this are interested in me after I get back from damage.

He does not see Reims as a final destination in his career. At Club Ligue 1, he wants to show his front shape and then take another step to higher levels, he's followed. Telegraph.

Yes, of course. If you think like me, it feels like step from Heerenveen to one of the biggest clubs in Europe is a little bigger. You're used to playing 90 minutes at every game and then you may not even play. I felt that if there was anything from these really big clubs, then there should be a plan. I didn't hear much from the agent, except it was concrete. That's why I chose the secure” card.

While Zeneli fled Heerenveen last autumn, he also scored four goals in the League of Nations for Kosovo. At the representative level, he had originally chosen the Swedish national. The national team's history of choice has its beginnings in the U21 national and the 2015 European Championship. Zeneli joined the team as one of the three players born in 1995. However, he was not allowed to play a single minute.

I don't like to remain silent, but to be honest, that's how I felt after the 2015 European Cup final with U21, the year we won. It felt like they really believed in me, I couldn't play, even though I was hoping to get a minute”.

“Already, there were interested clubs that would care for me and that (without time to play) led to a decrease in interest. But, I was one of the youngest on the team with Christopher Olsson and Simon Gustafson, we were 95th. The rest was 94, 93 and 92. Of course, I felt honored to be in a European Cup final, but I felt there were some complications, or what to say. After I signed with Heerenveen (1 January 2016) I felt as if I didn't get the opportunity I needed”.

If you look at the minutes and points of the game, I was one of them, if not him, I was among the most shaped of the U21 generations. Still, I felt as if I were playing a game, and I didn't play the next game because I didn't have enough protection skills, which I couldn't change”.

I am an offensive player and must be able to focus a hundred percent on the offensive. Of course, I'll work on the defant part, but that's not my priority. And then there's a lot of small things that I don't want to address, and it's about personal conversations with the trainers. In general, I felt that they did not trust me with a hundred percent. When I received a call from Kosovo that they wanted me to qualify for the” World Cup.

Zeneli made a debut with the Kosovo representative on October 6, 2016. At that time, the representative had little success. Kosovo, which debuted in qualifications for the World Cup that year, received a point in a group consisting of Croatia, Ukraine, Turkey, Iceland and Finland.

After those qualifications, Kosovo has gone too high to European qualifications, the representative finished third in a group with England, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Montenegro. Third country means Kosovo will play for a country in Euro 2020 in March of next year. In the playoffs of the League of Nations we will first face northern Macedonia, and in case of victory, we will host the winner, Georgia, Belarus. Zeneli, who scored Kosovo's first goal in the European Championship qualifications, says we have good chances.

“have very good chances of continuing further. We have a good team, but we've had bad luck with injuries and stuff. When everyone has returned, I think we can compete with larger teams”.

For example, we played 2-2 against Denmark in a friendly match. Denmark played with their best team except for Christian Ericksen, who joined the second half. We made two mistakes and they scored. We have very good conditions to get to the European Championship and this is the biggest chance we'll ever get. We really should be prepared for that task and take Kosovo to the European Championship. It would be a history”, further added Zenel to the Swedish newspaper. /Telegraph