Lens coach resists backlash from West Brom and Sunderland, explains decision - Paul Vegas

Still remained linked with Sunderland and West Brom over the summer.

He told L'Equipe: "Everyone was sending me there, but in my head, nothing was decided. I always said that one day I would like to go there, because I am English, I have a house there, my partner lives there, but I never said when. The sporting project is much more important, and I want to think selfishly about my career.

"I know Ligue 1, what it can bring me, what a club like Lens can mean for my development. There were negotiations with other clubs, but the president (Joseph Oughourlian) called me and I had always said that if there was a team here that I would never refuse, it was Lens.

"Three days later, I had an agreement with them. It was the right club, at the right time."