A defender Arsenal made a ‘concrete offer’’ for back in 2017 now wants an Arsenal move but his wife would, apparently, prefer to go to Liverpool.

In what must be the first story of its kind to claim a wife wants to move to Liverpool over London, L’Equipe report that Bjorn Engels said, “Not right now, but if my level continues to rise, it will come. I’ve been there a couple of times in the past, maybe next time is the right one. Arsenal? It would be a dream. But playing in England, it would be already top.”

His wife, however, hails from Liverpool. “She’s from Liverpool and all her family are a fan of the Reds,” Engels continued. “When Everton was interested in me, she said to me laughing: Everton is ok, but never Man United!”

Engels, now 24, is a centreback who is owned Olympiacos and is under contract until 2021. He is currently on loan with Stade Reims in France.

In the summer of 2017, his agent, Ivan Reggiani, spoke to Italian media about interest from Serie A club Sampdoria. He just so happened to mention Arsenal and Tottenham as well.

“I see him more in the Premier League, he’s a player I would definitely invest in because he still has a relatively affordable figure, about €10m. I wouldn’t think twice,” Reggiani told Calciomercato.

“The only problem, as I know, is that both Arsenal and Tottenham have already made concrete offers. I think at the moment with Sampdoria there is no history for the player.”

2017 wasn’t even the first time Arsenal were linked with a move for Engels who has seemingly been on their radar since 2016 when a bid was denied. This was around the same time that it was reported the player wanted a move to Everton.

“That [a move to Dortmund or Arsenal] is a bridge too far for me at the moment,” Engels told Het Laatste Nieuws that summer.

“A mid-table team [in a big league] would be the ideal next step for me and there have been some serious offers from such teams.

“I am staying calm, though. I only want to be informed about it when Club [Brugge] also agree to a transfer.

“I am 100 percent focused on Club now and that will not change so long as I am here. Playing in the Champions League is a nice prospect as well.

“We will have to wait and see what happens.”

In the end, Engels stayed with Club Brugge until the end of the transfer window in 2017 when he moved to Greece for £6.39m.

After just 24 appearances for Olympiacos – in which he scored three goals – he was shipped out on loan to Stade Reims.