The two -time national player from FC Southampton would like to take “further steps” in the next few years – where, he doesn’t know yet.
The two-time German soccer player Armel Bella-Kotchap does not see himself in his development and shows himself “open” for new things. “I have other goals that I am striving,” said FC Southampton’s central defender in the podcast “Kicker meets DAZN”. In the summer of 2022, the 23-year-old from VfL Bochum switched to the Premier League.
English football “helped him a lot,” said Bella-Kotchap, who is still under contract with the Saints by 2026 and emphasized: “I would like to take further steps in the next few years. I don’t know whether this will be in England. I am open.”
In the current season, the World Cup participant of 2022 was not taken into account in Southampton for months, collecting a single minute in the Premier League by mid-February. Before the recent 1-1 against Crystal Palace, where Bella-Kotchap was only on the bench, he was in the starting XI four times in a row. All four games were lost, with 19 points behind the saving bank, the bottom of the time is in front of the descent into the second -class championship.
The season was “very turbulent and hard for the players, also mentally,” said Bella-Kotchap. “As soon as you lose several games in a row, you can no longer approach the matter with the greatest self -confidence. You have to work out again through small situations.”