Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell has insisted he didn’t need convincing to stay at the club this summer, despite interest from Sunderland and West Ham United.
[La Depeche](https://www.ladepeche.fr/2025/09/12/tfc-je-nai-pas-eu-besoin-detre-convaincu-pour-rester-charlie-creswell-revient-sur-les-interets-prononces-de-clubs-europeens-durant-le-mercato-12926814.php) have an interview with the defender today as he continues to go from strength to strength at the French club.
Creswell joined Toulouse from Leeds United in a €4.5m deal last summer and hasn’t looked back since, with 37 appearances in all competitions to date and 3120 minutes.
He’s also firmly established himself in the England U21 set up, playing the full 90 minutes, or 120 minutes in the final against Germany, as they won the Under-21 European Championship this summer.
That led to interest in the summer, with La Depeche reporting that there were several Premier League teams in the mix, ‘notably West Ham’.
Sunderland were also among those were keen amid their big summer spending spree, with a report in June stating that they had identified him as an ideal target to bolster their defensive options.
He never ended up at either Sunderland or West Ham by the summer’s end, instead staying in France for another year. That, he says, is a decision that wasn’t difficult to make.
“That’s the life of a footballer during the transfer window… I’ve heard about this interest, which came from several places in Europe,” he said.
“I tried not to pay too much attention to it, and to stay focused on what I’m doing here in Toulouse: training hard, giving my all. In the end, I’m still here, and that’s a good thing.
“I don’t want to go into detail about what happened during the transfer window. But I can tell you that I didn’t need any convincing to stay. I had a great season, I met some great people, both at the club and outside.
“Last season, I felt like I was improving every week, right up until the summer and winning the European Under-21 Championship with England, which was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”