Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Julian Draxler has admitted that he contemplated a summer transfer amid links with Premier League outfit Leeds United.
PSG forked out €42 million (£38m/$50m) to bring Draxler to Parc des Princes from Wolfsburg in January 2017.
He has since racked up 145 appearances for the French champions, scoring 22 goals and laying on 32 assists, but fell down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel last season.
Draxler only featured in 11 Ligue 1 matches for PSG in 2019-20, and had to make do with a bit-part role in their run to the Champions League final.
The 27-year-old was tipped to leave the club during the summer transfer window having entered the final year of his contract, with Elland Road mooted as a possible next destination.
However, Leeds were ultimately unable to sign the German playmaker, and he will now have to wait until January before speaking to any potential suitors about a free transfer in 2021.
Draxler admits that while PSG achieved plenty of team success in 2019-20, he viewed the campaign as a "season to forget" on a personal level.
"Last season didn't go well at all," Draxler told Bild. "Not on a sporting level and also due to my injuries, then the season ended due to coronavirus. It was definitely a season to forget for me."
The Germany international admitted that he considered a move away but ultimately did not find a situation that suited him.
"In the summer I thought about trying to do something else," Draxler said. "Due to the coronavirus situation, it was ultimately difficult to find a club where I would have said: 'Everything fits well together, I definitely want to [come here]'.
"That was not the case, so I decided that I would not dare to take a quick shot and keep looking for my chance at Paris."
When asked if he was willing to take a lower salary to make a move happen, Draxler said: "Definitely. The top priority is not to sign a contract with the same salary. The overall package just has to be right.
"That I can imagine playing in the club, that good football is played there and that I play an important role - that would be the great sense of a change at this point, one year before the European Championship.
"Next year things will look easier when I'm free and another club doesn't have to negotiate a transfer with Paris."
Though he was looking for a way out of the French capital, Draxler does believe he'll have a better chance at playing time this season after recent conversations with his manager.
He said: "I had a good conversation with Thomas Tuchel. I felt then that I still had the chance to be deployed and that I was definitely not written off."
