Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel is hoping to swap the Russian Premier League for one of the biggest leagues in Europe in the summer.
Witsel, 27, was subject of intense transfer speculation in January, with the likes of Stoke and AC Milan among those that were chasing his signature.
The Belgium international will only have 12 months remaining on his current deal in the summer but the Zenit midfielder is hopeful of securing a move away at the end of the season.
“I still have a contract for one more year come June and the club know how I feel. I would like to play in a bigger league,” he told La Derniere Heure, via London Evening Standard.
“I cannot say that I will 100% leave, but we have not held talks over a new deal and my intentions is to leave this summer. I want to focus on finishing the season on a high, then there’s the Euros and then we will see what happens.
“I spoke to a number of clubs last summer, but it was not about money for Zenit. They wanted to keep me because of the Champions League and there was no time to sign a replacement.”
Only two midfielders have a higher pass success rate than Witsel in the Russian Premier League this season (88.5%).
For more stats on Axel Witsel, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
