Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar reveals he spurned the opportunity to move to the Premier League before signing a contract extension with the Bundesliga side.

The 29 year old was out of contract at the end of the season, prior to agreeing a two-year extension to his deal at the Veltins-Arena.

Huntelaar was linked with a move to the Premier League on numerous occasions, with Arsenal and Liverpool among those understood to be interested in taking advantage of the Dutchman's contract situation, and the former admits he turned down moves to England in order to stay at Schalke.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Huntelaar scored 29 league goals last season.

"A number of clubs from England enquired about me. However, I never opened contract talks with any of those teams," Huntelaar told Welt.

"I asked myself whether I wanted to stay put or make the move to England. The Premier League is the only top league in Europe where I have not played yet.

"The most important thing for me was that my family feels well, though. And we have everything we need here at Schalke.

"My dream club has always been Ajax," he added "I might return there towards the end of my career before I retire. I am completely focused on Schalke for now, though."

Questions have always remainded over Huntelaar's ability to realise his undoubted talent at a major European club, having endured difficult spells while at Real Madrid and AC Milan.

In the 2011/12 Bundesliga season, Huntelaar scored 29 league goals as Schalke qualified for this season's Champions League.

Going into the current campaign, both him and midfielder Lewis Holtby were both out of contract in the summer, and while his German counterpart has opted to join Tottenham Hotspur, Huntelaar is staying put to assist the club's attempts to bridge the gap to the Bundesliga top four.

Huntelaar scored twice earlier this season against Arsenal in the Champions League, one of those clubs linked with his services along with Liverpool.

While Liverpool have added Daniel Sturridge to their artillery for the remainder of the season, Arsenal are still to make an venture into the window with manager Arsene Wenger looking to be frugal again in the transfer market.

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