Christian Kouame wants to stay at Fiorentina and feels he ‘owes something’ to the Viola. ‘I’m happy in Florence and willing to repay them on the pitch’.
The 23-yar-old suffered a cruciate ligament injury when playing for Ivory Coast U23, but despite being ruled out for six months, he was still picked up by Fiorentina in January 2020.
The centre-forward played 33 games in Serie A 2020-21, contributing only one goal in the process, but the Ivorian now feels he is getting back to his best and wants to repay the Viola.
“I feel I owe myself and the club something,” Kouame told BBC Sport Africa. “Things didn’t go as planned for us this season and the atmosphere got quite tense.
“I feel much better now, I have put the injury fully behind me and I am confident things will improve.
“All I can do is work hard, learn from our mistakes and build on what we did well. I am grateful to Fiorentina for what they did for me and I am willing to repay that on the pitch.”
The attacker has been linked with a move abroad and the broadcaster asked about a possible move to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I have heard of it too, but my agent didn’t say anything to me really,” he continued. “I have just put a strange year behind me, I know I could have done more and I am very happy in Florence.
“Everyone welcomed me with open arms; the city is beautiful and my wife and son are here with me. The club will have to tell me they don’t need me anymore, otherwise I am happy to stay.
“One day in the future I would like to play in another country, though.”