Amadou Onana was linked with Arsenal in the January transfer window and his agent has admitted he could have left Everton.

Various reports linked Arsenal with an interest in Everton’s Amadou Onana during the January transfer window, with the two parties reportedly holding conversations. But in the end, it all came to nothing.

Speaking about the winter window in a YouTube interview this week, Onana’s sister and agent Melissa confirmed that a move was briefly on the table.

“We could have left this winter, but we once again sat down and asked the question whether it’s the right time, if the player is ready,” Melissa Onana said (via Sport Witness).

“My job is to put opportunities on the table. In the end, he’s the one who makes the choice because it’s his life and his career.

“I put the opportunities on the table and he said ‘No, I want to stay at Everton and I want to continue to fight’.

“Personally, I’m also not a fan of transfers during the winter. Often, it’s to put a stop to a bad situation.”

Belgian football journalist Pieter-Jan Calcoen of Nieuwsblad Sport had reported in January that Arsenal were in contact with Onana’s camp, as well as his club Everton.

But the suggestion was always that the Gunners would have to sell before they could make a significant move for the midfielder.

That never happened, so a serious move for Onana never seemed particularly likely.

Everton boss Sean Dyche also played down the links to Arsenal.

“He’s been heavily linked before I was here and after,” Dyche said. “It’s just another story.

“He’s an Everton player, so any decision that we make on players, it will be us that decide.”

Everton are in some financial difficulties at the moment, and they’re under particular scrutiny following another recent breach of the Premier League’s rules.

But any potential transfer will have to wait until the summer, and Arsenal may have moved onto other targets by then.