Pierre Lees-Melou opens up on Norwich City departure

The French midfielder spent a year in Norfolk during their last Premier League stint but moved on following relegation to join Stade Brestois on a permanent deal. 

City signed Lees-Melou from Nice for £5m in 2021 as part of their recruitment drive ahead of that top-flight campaign, but he failed to kick on in England and was part of a side that amassed just 22 points. 

He previously stated that he had no regrets over his spell at Carrow Road and has now opened up on his departure, stating that the prospect of playing in the second division with the Canaries wasn't appealing. 

"After Norwich were relegated to the Championship, I had several offers," Lees-Melou told the official Ligue 1 website. 

"I don't want to knock the English second division, but I wasn't really interested in playing in the Championship.

"It's a good league, but there are a lot of games, two cups and, above all, I wanted to stay in a top-flight club. I wanted to continue playing at the highest level.

"On top of that, Brest had an ambitious project. The recruitment was interesting and I liked the idea of returning to France. I'd spoken at length to Grégory Lorenzi (Brest sporting director) and the coach. I'd also spoken to Christophe Hérelle, with whom I played at Nice.

"I thought long and hard before choosing Brest and I don't regret it at all. We have a good group, a good team and a family atmosphere."

Lees-Melou has impressed since his return to France and has even been touted for an international call up by his manager Eric Roy and sporting director Lorenzi described him as a 'fine wine'. 

He believes the experience at Norwich has improved him as a player - even if English cuisine wasn't to his taste. 

"When you sign for a club, it's not necessarily your intention to get relegated," he said. "But this year at Norwich will remain a good experience from a personal point of view.

"I discovered the Premier League, the stadiums, the great atmosphere... When we played Manchester United at Old Trafford, that was something. We lost 3-2, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick. They didn't have much left to play for but there were 80,000 people there, and that made an impression on me.

Pierre Lees-Melou relished playing Manchester United at Old Trafford. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

"In my game, I've made a lot of progress in terms of aggression and defence. Even though I would have liked Norwich to stay in the Premier League, there are a lot of positives and I didn't see it as a failure. 

"It was fun, even if my partner and I weren't big fans of the food. The English love to put beans everywhere. But life there was good.

"Especially as the clubs give more days off than in France during international breaks, so we often took the opportunity to go to London."